With Floyd Mayweather back in the game, talk of a potential clash of titans was afoot. Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were on a collision course, fighting common opponents and outdoing one another in the process.
With talk of a meeting of the pair bubbling away nicely, Pacquiao made another case for his own uniqueness. He signed to fight Miguel Cotto, and in so doing agreed to fight someone who many in boxing felt Mayweather had specifically avoided.
Part 4: Pacquiao blows Cotto away
The weight limit was a major talking point in this agreement, however. Pacquiao was not, as it was stated, moving back up to welterweight. Instead a catchweight of 145 lbs had been agreed.
Cotto had grown into the 147 lb class comfortably since moving up, but decided it was reasonable to shed extra weight with a big money fight within his grasp.
The fight was a nice earner for both men; each brought with them their own partisan set of supporters from the Philippines and Puerto Rico. It was clear, however, that it was Pacquiao whose star was in the ascendancy. Although naturally smaller, he had spent the last year tearing up the bookmakers script.
Having worn down Oscar De La Hoya and blasted out Ricky Hatton, Pacquiao had little fear for Cotto’s size. His hand-speed, footwork and surprising power actually made him a favorite for this contest in the eyes of many, though Cotto was a live underdog.
The opening four rounds in this clash of modern greats were raucous. Cotto came forward, attempting to assert himself with intelligent pressure. His jab and body work troubled Pacquiao slightly in the early going, but by round two he had made the fatal error of believing in his size advantage.
Pacquiao darted in and out, beginning to sling leather with ferocious speed and abundant volume in the second. Cotto was momentarily stopped in his tracks by an uppercut but continued forward in uncharacteristically reckless fashion. Scottish commentator Jim Watt astutely noted; “The mist has come down.”
The third round, early as it was, was the beginning of the end for the Puerto Rican. Early in the third Pacquiao launched a two-fisted assault of straight shots and Cotto fell to the floor. Although not hurt in this instance, he would be in the very next round as, fighting back, Pacquaio caught him with a shattering uppercut.
A discombobulated Cotto fought his way back into the fight, but as Pacquaio continued to take his shots and beckon him in on the ropes before unloading volleys of his own, shades of defeat to Antonio Margarito must have begun to haunt Cotto.
Gradually the contest became a no-contest. Pacquiao’s relentless attacking style was too much and a now retreating Cotto was unable to whether the storm. By the 12th round Kenny Bayless wisely called the fight off with Cotto bruised, battered and broken.
The victory was Pacquiao’s greatest feat. He had systematically beaten down a future Hall of Famer. From ringside, Mayweather’s father; Floyd Sr., explained the feat by suggesting that Pacquiao was using substances he should not have been using.
Such accusations would lead to another kind of debate but, ultimately, they were merely comforting words from a father trying to convince himself that his son wouldn’t get hurt next.
The great debate had officially begun. Mayweather or Pacquiao? It had to happen.
