With Manny Pacquiao now set for a June 9 clash with 140-pound top dog Timothy Bradley, boxing’s two biggest stars are once again to fight someone other than each other. Floyd Mayweather had already signed on the dotted line to fight Miguel Cotto, with the fight scheduled to start prior to his stint as a jailbird. Even though this means two big fights for late spring and early summer, the failure to put together the biggest fight in boxing yet again begs the question of who won and who lost in this pugilistic disappointment.
Winners and Losers: Mayweather vs. Cotto
The sole clear winner for this fight is the Pretty Boy. While I think far too much is made of Miguel Cotto as a “diminished fighter,” Mayweather is the obvious favorite in this fight and for good reason. While Cotto has faded somewhat since his late 00’s heyday, he has had some good wins since the infamous plaster hand wraps fight with Margacheato, and clearly deserves his #1 slot in the junior middleweight division. Yet while Cotto is a well-rounded, capable boxer-puncher, the two fighters are about the same size and Cotto lacks either the speed or combative intensity to pose a real threat to Mayweather.
Mayweather is the clear winner for another reason. In fighting Cotto before he goes to jail, he gets a fat payday and a solid fight prior to serving his 90-day sentence. When he emerges from the pokey, he won’t be rusty or hurting for cash.
Winners and Losers: Pacquiao vs. Bradley
In the two fights, I like Bradley’s chances better than Cotto’s, but that doesn’t mean I favor him. Pacquiao’s recent fight with Juan Manuel Marquez shows he still has a vulnerability to polished counter-punching, but I think a fighter needs a mixture of hand speed and power to exploit it, as well as the sheer durability to absorb Pacquiao’s rapid-fire artillery.
Bradley is certainly slick enough and might prove durable enough, and it’s clear that Team Pacquiao hopes Bradley will be good preparation for Mayweather. In my opinion, however, Marquez is a bigger puncher than Bradley, so he is lacking that critical power element. Pacquiao vs. Bradley should prove more competitive than Mayweather vs. Cotto, but I don’t see much upset potential in it.
Unlike Mayweather vs. Cotto, Pacquiao is not the sole clear winner in this match-up. Bob Arum and Top Rank will make out like bandits here, since they promote both fighters in this bout and three out of four fighters overall. Not only do they have a piece of Mayweather’s fight through Miguel Cotto, but Pacquaio vs. Bradley is another all in-house Top Rank classic.
Losers in General
Once again, the biggest losers in this mess are the fight fans. Make no mistake, these are two big fights, but the fans want Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, and anything that postpones that is a net loss for boxing.
Compounding that loss is Pacquiao’s decision to once again duck Juan Manuel Marquez and take Timothy Bradley instead. After avoiding Marquez for three years and following his controversial “win” in the rubber match, the least Manny Pacquiao could have done was insist on making Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV a reality, the only fight that might have meant putting off a clash with Mayweather worthwhile. Instead, Pacman has yet again ducked a dangerous return clash with a man many think has beaten him twice, only to be robbed by the judges.
Fighting Bradley instead of Marquez produces two losers. First, it makes the fans double losers. The other loser is Juan Manuel Marquez, who misses out on another big payday, another chance to set the record straight, and who might very well retire for it.
