Saturday’s match ( 14 Nov) between Pacquiao and Cotto in the welterweight division was the best fight of the year and will go down as one the most memorable boxing fights in recent times. Pacquiao has proven conclusively that he is the best boxer of his generation, stopping the welterweight champion Cotto by TKO in the 12th round. Pacquiao dominated throughout the fight while Cotto valiantly fought on but he was clearly outclassed by the faster and surprisingly more powerful Pacquiao.

Coming to the fight, everyone knew that Pacquiao had speed. What astounds fans and critics alike is Pacquiao’s ability to absorb Cotto’s arsenal of power punches and deliver his own, breaking Cotto down with accurate and devastating punches. Prior to the fight, so much has been said about Miguel Cotto’s strength advantage on Manny Pacquiao.  Cotto was the bigger and natural welterweight.  He is a powerful puncher and has beaten the best in his division. Surely Pacquiao, the smaller “overweight lightweight”, as Cotto’s trainer was quoted saying, would not stand a chance once he becomes the receiving end of Cotto’s powerful punches, especially his deadly left hooks and “liver punches” that have sent past opponents reeling in pain. Critics went on to say that Pacquiao may be fast but once hit, he would slow down and would be beaten to a pulp.

Even as the pugilists entered the ring, it seemed that these predictions were right. Pacquiao entered the stadium smiling, very relaxed and he was happily waving to the audience.  One would not think that this jovial and unassuming man was rated the Number 1 P4P boxer. Then came Cotto, sullen and unsmiling, every inch looking like a tough and aggressive warrior.  Once their robes were removed, one could see the difference in their sizes. Pacquiao simply looked too thin against the muscled Cotto.  Just by their looks, who would ever give a prayer to the smaller boxer?

During the first round, Pacquiao looked tentative while Cotto was clearly the aggressor, landing several good combinations.  Pacquiao later said that he was testing Cotto and seeing if he could handle Cotto’s punches.

From the second round onwards, Pacquiao came to form and dictated the fight’s tempo, always in control.  Cotto tried every trick in his arsenal – upper cuts, body punches, switching to southpaw – but to no avail.

Everyone expected Pacquiao to hit and run, to use his speed and avoid Cotto’s punches as much as possible.  Pacquiao thought otherwise and decided to show everyone his strength. He went toe-to-toe with Cotto, trading punches in successive combinations.  The pressure started to show by the third round, when Cotto was knocked down.

By the fourth round, Pacquiao did something unthinkable as far his trainer Freddie Roach is concerned:  he allowed his back to stay on the ropes, in a “rope-a-dope” fashion of Muhammad Ali. He let Cotto hit him with the latter’s powerful body punches, showing how he could take it.  It was a great psychological ploy, since if Cotto cannot rely on his body attacks, what else could he do?  Pacquiao then suddenly counterpunched with a massive left hook that sent Cotto down on his knees.  Lucky for Cotto, the knockdown happened too late in the round; otherwise the fight would have ended there.

Although Cotto fought on, he never really recovered from this knockdown and became tentative in his attacks.   By the ninth round, Cotto was no longer attacking but was clearly in survival mode, as he danced and practically ran away from Pacquiao’s fist.

It was only a matter of time before Cotto succumb to Pacquiao relentless onslaught.   Though he was clearly winning on points, Pacquiao kept stalking Cotto, eager to knock him down.  This was so unusual since it is normally someone behind points who turn aggressive in the later rounds, hoping to win the fight through late points or possibly a knockout. Unfortunately, Cotto could not hope for this since he had long run out of steam and was really only trying to stay upright until the end.

The fight ended by TKO on the twelve round, when the referee Kenny Bayless decided that Cotto had enough after receiving another does of Pacquiao’s powerful combinations.  Even Cotto seemed relieved that it was over, congratulating Pacquiao after the fight.

The post fight comments from Cotto’s camp were very telling:

Cotto: “I fought the best boxers. Manny is one the best fighters I have ever fought.”

Cotto:  “I didn’t know where the [punches] were coming [from], and I didn’t protect myself from those punches.”

Joe Santiago, Cotto’s trainer:  “He [Pacquiao] was stronger than we expected, he was faster than we expected.”

Pacquiao’s performance has shown that he is a true champion and is able to beat a great welterweight in his own division. By showing that he could absorb Cotto’s best punches; he is sending a message to all welterweights out there that he is the dominant force in this division, the true king of his domain.

With this win,  Manny Pacquiao has solidified his place in boxing history, with a record of seven championship belts in seven weight divisions.