Post by EXPRESIDENT on Nov 15, 2009 17:25:43 GMT 8
Pacquiao wins seventh world title
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Manny Pacquiao's speed and power were way too much for Miguel Cotto's heart.
Pacquiao put on yet another dominating performance Saturday night, knocking down Cotto twice and turning his face into a bloody mess before finally stopping him at 55 seconds of the 12th round.
The Filipino star used his blazing speed and power from both hands to win his seventh title in seven weight classes and cement his stature as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Cotto took such a beating that his face was a river of red from the fury of Pacquiao's punches, but he refused to quit even as his corner tried to throw in the towel after the 11th round.
"I didn't know from where the punches were coming," Cotto said.
The fight was billed as a 145-pound classic, and in the early rounds it didn't disappoint. The two went after each other with a vengeance and Cotto more than held his own as they traded punches in the center of the ring before a roaring sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena.
Pacquiao dropped Cotto with a right hand early in the third round, but he wasn't badly hurt and came back to finish the round strong. But after Pacquiao put Cotto on the canvas with a big left hand late in the fourth round, the Puerto Rican was never the same again.
"Our plan was not to hurry, but to take our time," Pacquiao said. "It was a hard fight tonight and I needed time to test his power."
Cotto's face was marked early and he was bleeding midway through the fight as Pacquiao kept bouncing around and throwing punches in his unorthodox southpaw style. He tried to keep taking the fight to Pacquiao, but by then his punches had lost their sting and his only real chance was to land a big punch from nowhere.
"He hit harder than we expected and he was a lot stronger than we expected," Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, said.
Cotto fought gamely, but in the later rounds he was just trying to survive as blood flowed down his face and Pacquiao came after him relentlessly. Santiago tried to stop the fight after the 11th round, but Cotto went back out to take even more punishment before a final flurry along the ropes prompted referee Kenny Bayless to end it.
Cotto's wife and child, who were at ringside, left after the ninth round, unable to watch the beating any longer. They later accompanied him to a local hospital for a post-fight examination.
"My health comes first. I just want to make sure I'm fine, but I feel great. I'm swollen but that's all," Cotto said.
His face swollen, Cotto was bleeding from his nose and his cuts, and he simply couldn't stop Pacquiao from bouncing inside and throwing both hands at will.
"Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers I ever fought," Cotto said.
Pacquiao, coming off of spectacular wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, added another one against Cotto, who had lost only once and held the WBO version of the welterweight title.
Pacquiao did it in his trademark way, throwing punches in flurries and from all angles until Cotto began to slow down. Then he pursued him nonstop until the end.
The fight likely will set up an even bigger one against Floyd Mayweather Jr., and many in crowd were already chanting, "We want Floyd! We want Floyd."
"I want to see him fight Mayweather," trainer Freddie Roach said.
Mayweather may have second thoughts after Pacquiao did what no fighter has done before -- win a belt in a seventh weight class. More impressive, though, is how he has fought, dismantling opponents despite moving up consistently from 106 pounds to the 144 he weighed for the fight.
The welterweight ranks will be the last ones Pacquiao conquers, though.
"This is the last weight division for me," Pacquiao said. "It's history for me and more importantly a Filipino did it."
He was so dominant in the later rounds that Cotto was fighting backward most of the way, simply trying to survive. Pacquiao was credited with landing almost twice as many punches -- 336-172 -- as Cotto.
"I knew when Cotto started backing up, the fight was over," Roach said.
Pacquiao earned a minimum $13 million, while Cotto got $7 million.
Pacquiao was favored, largely off his last two performances in which he forced De La Hoya to quit on his stool and then knocked out Hatton with a huge left hook in the second round. Some in boxing, including Roach, thought Cotto had been slowed by his devastating loss last year to Antonio Margarito and would be further slowed by having to come in 2 pounds lower than his normal weight.
That wasn't the case early in the fight, with Cotto winning the first round and fighting well. Once he was knocked down by a big left hand late in the fourth round, though, he slowed noticeably.
Courtesy of: SportsIllustrated.cnn.com
Fight analysis: Mind over matter
MANILA, Philippines - It took a lot of guts to do what Manny Pacquiao did in beating Miguel Cotto for his seventh world boxing championship in seven different weight divisions at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila).
Pacquiao, a 3-1 favorite, realized from the onset that Cotto’s power left jab – the same weapon he used in scoring a unanimous 12-round decision over Sugar Shane Mosley in 2007 – would be a huge problem.
Cotto pumped double left jabs to keep Pacquiao off-balance in taking the first round of their WBO welterweight title bout. Fighting from a distance, Cotto had the advantage of dictating tempo because of his jarring left jab.
Pacquiao knew that his chances of winning hinged on getting Cotto to come forward so he could use his hand-speed and foot-speed to frustrate the Puerto Rican. But if Cotto continued to throw the left jab, it would be a long night for the Filipino icon.
Pacquiao made instant adjustments to offset Cotto’s edge but it meant taking a huge risk. Abandoning his plan to stick and run, Pacquiao held his ground, inviting Cotto to engage. He even did a version of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope, leaning against the ropes without hitting back to lure Cotto inside. Pacquiao’s gamble was to raise Cotto’s level of confidence so he would forget about jabbing from a distance and instead, move in to unload power shots.
In the third round, a right put Cotto down for a mandatory eight-count but it hardly made the Puerto Rican think twice about moving in. Cotto wasn’t badly hurt and in fact, was on the attack before the round ended.
Pacquiao’s adjustment was evident in the fourth as he allowed Cotto space to lean on him against the ropes. It was a dangerous strategy as Pacquiao exposed the side of his body to Cotto’s murderous left hooks. But Pacquiao figured it was the only way to get Cotto out of his jabbing mode and make him an easier target.
What happened late the fourth round was exactly how Pacquiao planned it. Cotto became comfortable throwing short-range bombs and got caught with a vicious left hook to the jaw. It was a brutal blow. Cotto dropped to his knees and looked wobbly as he stood up. The bell rang shortly after to save the Puerto Rican from another fall.
Clearly, Cotto couldn’t figure out what Pacquiao was up to and walked into the Filipino’s trap. In the sixth round, Pacquiao staggered Cotto once more, methodically turning the contest into a one-sided massacre. Cotto’s face was a mask of lumps, bruises and cuts. He looked like a beaten man before the bell sounded to open the seventh round.
With his will to win slowly eroded by Pacquiao’s unforgiving pressure, Cotto decided to do the unthinkable for a defending champion – he began to run. At that point, all he wanted to do was to survive the fight on his feet. He got on an imaginary bicycle and took off, leaving Pacquiao in hot pursuit. Cotto’s aggressiveness was gone, a thing of the past, and he transformed into a shadow of his old self, running scared instead of standing up to fight.
If you think about it, Cotto would’ve probably stolen some rounds from Pacquiao using the power jab to stymie the Filipino’s momentum. That would’ve kept Pacquiao at bay. But Pacquiao had Cotto all figured out. He knew if Cotto continued to dictate with the jab, he wouldn’t be able to get untracked. The danger of losing on points loomed.
Cotto’s adjustment to box starting the seventh round threw off Pacquiao momentarily. Cotto might have even taken the eighth canto using the stick-and-move routine as the Filipino tried to chase down his prey. But the change in tactics proved futile. Inevitably, Pacquiao caught up with Cotto who progressively grew slower as the fight wore on.
Referee Kenny Bayless mercifully stepped in to halt the carnage at 0:55 of the 12th round. He could’ve allowed Cotto to finish the distance as it didn’t seem like he was in any danger of going down. But Cotto didn’t deserve the reprieve. Down the stretch, he fought like a mouse running away from a cat – it was no way for a champion to go. You would expect a defending titlist to go down fighting, not to go down running.
Bayless did the right thing to stop it and award Pacquiao the satisfaction of winning inside the distance. Cotto no longer fought back anyway and in fact, Bayless would’ve been justified to stop it even a few rounds earlier.
For Pacquiao, the five elements that sealed the victory were:
• Speed. Clearly, Cotto had no antidote to negate Pacquiao’s hand-speed and foot-speed. The boxing adage of “speed kills in the ring” was obvious in the fight.
• Stamina. Pacquiao was in excellent physical condition. He still looked fresh in the 12th round and probably could’ve gone a few more. The Filipino was stung occasionally but never took a step back.
• Adjustments. Pacquiao didn’t take long to make adjustments. He took away Cotto’s power left jab by drawing him close then as the Puerto Rican got comfortable inside, the Filipino whirled around to throw his bombs. Pacquiao fought intelligently. Cotto wasn’t smart enough to blunt Pacquiao’s edge.
• Two-fisted attack. Pacquiao rained punches from all angles. Cotto didn’t know where the blows came from. Pacquiao decked Cotto with a right in the third and a left in the fourth.
• Heart. Pacquiao took a big gamble by leaning against the ropes to invite Cotto to whale away. Only a gutsy and fearless fighter would do it. Pacquiao once more showed how big his heart is and when you come down to it, that was the margin of difference.
By Joaquin Henson (Philstar News Service,
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Manny Pacquiao's speed and power were way too much for Miguel Cotto's heart.
Pacquiao put on yet another dominating performance Saturday night, knocking down Cotto twice and turning his face into a bloody mess before finally stopping him at 55 seconds of the 12th round.
The Filipino star used his blazing speed and power from both hands to win his seventh title in seven weight classes and cement his stature as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Cotto took such a beating that his face was a river of red from the fury of Pacquiao's punches, but he refused to quit even as his corner tried to throw in the towel after the 11th round.
"I didn't know from where the punches were coming," Cotto said.
The fight was billed as a 145-pound classic, and in the early rounds it didn't disappoint. The two went after each other with a vengeance and Cotto more than held his own as they traded punches in the center of the ring before a roaring sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena.
Pacquiao dropped Cotto with a right hand early in the third round, but he wasn't badly hurt and came back to finish the round strong. But after Pacquiao put Cotto on the canvas with a big left hand late in the fourth round, the Puerto Rican was never the same again.
"Our plan was not to hurry, but to take our time," Pacquiao said. "It was a hard fight tonight and I needed time to test his power."
Cotto's face was marked early and he was bleeding midway through the fight as Pacquiao kept bouncing around and throwing punches in his unorthodox southpaw style. He tried to keep taking the fight to Pacquiao, but by then his punches had lost their sting and his only real chance was to land a big punch from nowhere.
"He hit harder than we expected and he was a lot stronger than we expected," Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, said.
Cotto fought gamely, but in the later rounds he was just trying to survive as blood flowed down his face and Pacquiao came after him relentlessly. Santiago tried to stop the fight after the 11th round, but Cotto went back out to take even more punishment before a final flurry along the ropes prompted referee Kenny Bayless to end it.
Cotto's wife and child, who were at ringside, left after the ninth round, unable to watch the beating any longer. They later accompanied him to a local hospital for a post-fight examination.
"My health comes first. I just want to make sure I'm fine, but I feel great. I'm swollen but that's all," Cotto said.
His face swollen, Cotto was bleeding from his nose and his cuts, and he simply couldn't stop Pacquiao from bouncing inside and throwing both hands at will.
"Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers I ever fought," Cotto said.
Pacquiao, coming off of spectacular wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, added another one against Cotto, who had lost only once and held the WBO version of the welterweight title.
Pacquiao did it in his trademark way, throwing punches in flurries and from all angles until Cotto began to slow down. Then he pursued him nonstop until the end.
The fight likely will set up an even bigger one against Floyd Mayweather Jr., and many in crowd were already chanting, "We want Floyd! We want Floyd."
"I want to see him fight Mayweather," trainer Freddie Roach said.
Mayweather may have second thoughts after Pacquiao did what no fighter has done before -- win a belt in a seventh weight class. More impressive, though, is how he has fought, dismantling opponents despite moving up consistently from 106 pounds to the 144 he weighed for the fight.
The welterweight ranks will be the last ones Pacquiao conquers, though.
"This is the last weight division for me," Pacquiao said. "It's history for me and more importantly a Filipino did it."
He was so dominant in the later rounds that Cotto was fighting backward most of the way, simply trying to survive. Pacquiao was credited with landing almost twice as many punches -- 336-172 -- as Cotto.
"I knew when Cotto started backing up, the fight was over," Roach said.
Pacquiao earned a minimum $13 million, while Cotto got $7 million.
Pacquiao was favored, largely off his last two performances in which he forced De La Hoya to quit on his stool and then knocked out Hatton with a huge left hook in the second round. Some in boxing, including Roach, thought Cotto had been slowed by his devastating loss last year to Antonio Margarito and would be further slowed by having to come in 2 pounds lower than his normal weight.
That wasn't the case early in the fight, with Cotto winning the first round and fighting well. Once he was knocked down by a big left hand late in the fourth round, though, he slowed noticeably.
Courtesy of: SportsIllustrated.cnn.com
Fight analysis: Mind over matter
MANILA, Philippines - It took a lot of guts to do what Manny Pacquiao did in beating Miguel Cotto for his seventh world boxing championship in seven different weight divisions at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila).
Pacquiao, a 3-1 favorite, realized from the onset that Cotto’s power left jab – the same weapon he used in scoring a unanimous 12-round decision over Sugar Shane Mosley in 2007 – would be a huge problem.
Cotto pumped double left jabs to keep Pacquiao off-balance in taking the first round of their WBO welterweight title bout. Fighting from a distance, Cotto had the advantage of dictating tempo because of his jarring left jab.
Pacquiao knew that his chances of winning hinged on getting Cotto to come forward so he could use his hand-speed and foot-speed to frustrate the Puerto Rican. But if Cotto continued to throw the left jab, it would be a long night for the Filipino icon.
Pacquiao made instant adjustments to offset Cotto’s edge but it meant taking a huge risk. Abandoning his plan to stick and run, Pacquiao held his ground, inviting Cotto to engage. He even did a version of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope, leaning against the ropes without hitting back to lure Cotto inside. Pacquiao’s gamble was to raise Cotto’s level of confidence so he would forget about jabbing from a distance and instead, move in to unload power shots.
In the third round, a right put Cotto down for a mandatory eight-count but it hardly made the Puerto Rican think twice about moving in. Cotto wasn’t badly hurt and in fact, was on the attack before the round ended.
Pacquiao’s adjustment was evident in the fourth as he allowed Cotto space to lean on him against the ropes. It was a dangerous strategy as Pacquiao exposed the side of his body to Cotto’s murderous left hooks. But Pacquiao figured it was the only way to get Cotto out of his jabbing mode and make him an easier target.
What happened late the fourth round was exactly how Pacquiao planned it. Cotto became comfortable throwing short-range bombs and got caught with a vicious left hook to the jaw. It was a brutal blow. Cotto dropped to his knees and looked wobbly as he stood up. The bell rang shortly after to save the Puerto Rican from another fall.
Clearly, Cotto couldn’t figure out what Pacquiao was up to and walked into the Filipino’s trap. In the sixth round, Pacquiao staggered Cotto once more, methodically turning the contest into a one-sided massacre. Cotto’s face was a mask of lumps, bruises and cuts. He looked like a beaten man before the bell sounded to open the seventh round.
With his will to win slowly eroded by Pacquiao’s unforgiving pressure, Cotto decided to do the unthinkable for a defending champion – he began to run. At that point, all he wanted to do was to survive the fight on his feet. He got on an imaginary bicycle and took off, leaving Pacquiao in hot pursuit. Cotto’s aggressiveness was gone, a thing of the past, and he transformed into a shadow of his old self, running scared instead of standing up to fight.
If you think about it, Cotto would’ve probably stolen some rounds from Pacquiao using the power jab to stymie the Filipino’s momentum. That would’ve kept Pacquiao at bay. But Pacquiao had Cotto all figured out. He knew if Cotto continued to dictate with the jab, he wouldn’t be able to get untracked. The danger of losing on points loomed.
Cotto’s adjustment to box starting the seventh round threw off Pacquiao momentarily. Cotto might have even taken the eighth canto using the stick-and-move routine as the Filipino tried to chase down his prey. But the change in tactics proved futile. Inevitably, Pacquiao caught up with Cotto who progressively grew slower as the fight wore on.
Referee Kenny Bayless mercifully stepped in to halt the carnage at 0:55 of the 12th round. He could’ve allowed Cotto to finish the distance as it didn’t seem like he was in any danger of going down. But Cotto didn’t deserve the reprieve. Down the stretch, he fought like a mouse running away from a cat – it was no way for a champion to go. You would expect a defending titlist to go down fighting, not to go down running.
Bayless did the right thing to stop it and award Pacquiao the satisfaction of winning inside the distance. Cotto no longer fought back anyway and in fact, Bayless would’ve been justified to stop it even a few rounds earlier.
For Pacquiao, the five elements that sealed the victory were:
• Speed. Clearly, Cotto had no antidote to negate Pacquiao’s hand-speed and foot-speed. The boxing adage of “speed kills in the ring” was obvious in the fight.
• Stamina. Pacquiao was in excellent physical condition. He still looked fresh in the 12th round and probably could’ve gone a few more. The Filipino was stung occasionally but never took a step back.
• Adjustments. Pacquiao didn’t take long to make adjustments. He took away Cotto’s power left jab by drawing him close then as the Puerto Rican got comfortable inside, the Filipino whirled around to throw his bombs. Pacquiao fought intelligently. Cotto wasn’t smart enough to blunt Pacquiao’s edge.
• Two-fisted attack. Pacquiao rained punches from all angles. Cotto didn’t know where the blows came from. Pacquiao decked Cotto with a right in the third and a left in the fourth.
• Heart. Pacquiao took a big gamble by leaning against the ropes to invite Cotto to whale away. Only a gutsy and fearless fighter would do it. Pacquiao once more showed how big his heart is and when you come down to it, that was the margin of difference.
By Joaquin Henson (Philstar News Service,