 I had the opportunity to see Margarito vs. Cotto live in Las Vegas. At the time I had been following the careers of both fighters very closely, and although Cotto’s boxing skills were superior, I always had doubts about his chin. So as a man who generally defies conventional wisdom, my “Benjamins” had been securely bet on the Tijuana Tornado, who was an 8-to-5 underdog in that fight. Similarly, “The Pride of the Philippines” comes into this fight as the better boxer, and faster opponent. But Cotto has a mechanism that Pacquiao doesn’t—flight. Pacquiao enjoys a good fight which is why he is so beloved by boxing fans around the world. It appears his sympathetic nervous system is wired as the polar opposite of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who generally relies on speed, flight, and efficacy of attack when dealing with dangerous opponents.Speaking of which, who was Pacquiao’s last dangerous opponent? The defensive minded Joshua Clottey? The emotionally battered and bruised Miguel Cotto? The technically unsound Ricky Hatton? An over-the-hill Oscar De La Hoya? In my opinion, his last sound opponent was his controversial win against Juan Manuel Marquez, by which many boxing pundits believe he lost.The recent losses that Margarito have incurred have come by the way of Paul “The Punisher” Williams and “Sugar” Shane Mosley, both of whom were avoided by Manny Pacquiao’s handlers. Both of whom, in my opinion, would beat the dangerous southpaw.As unpopular as it may be, I am still a Margarito fan. He paid his debt to the sport with his 1-year suspension, and he was forgiven by the man who matters most, Shane Mosley. Margarito’s path to redemption could not be laid out more perfectly. He is preparing for the fight of his life. Conversely, I believe that this will be Pacquiao’s fight of his life. It will be a war of epic proportions against a bigger and stronger, albeit less skilled, version of Juan Manuel Marquez. If Pacquiao refuses to use the Floyd-esque method of “score-and-retreat”, he will become a victim of thunderous uppercuts and violent exchanges. I believe it will be Pacquiao’s inherent desire to mix-it-up that will lead to his demise in this fight. This fight is going to look like a construction site; hard hats and bricks. As soon as one is thrown, there will be another on the way. If I was Freddie Roach’s team I would make Margarito’s team wrap and unwrap those bricks twice. Regardless, I believe Margarito’s going to build a house on November 13th. My vote has been cast and this ain’t politics. Add Comment  by Troy J. Hines 11/15/09 Tears of joy and tears of pain were shed last night after the highly anticipated mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. A highly emotional crowd filled with proud Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, and hard core boxing fans knew that they both would be shedding tears by the end of this bout. We now know they indeed cried, and for what reasons. Manny Pacquiao is arguably the most exciting fighter in the entire sport of boxing, and to many he proved that he has been rightly “coronated” as the Pound-for-Pound King of Modern Prize Fighting. He was simply “Mann-ificent”. Using a combination of hand speed, foot speed, ring savvy, and bravery, he did what many believed Manny couldnot do. He becomes the first man to win 7 titles in 7 weight divisions, and did so against a true “heavy handed” welterweight—by Technical Knock Out. We saw this man dart in, dart out, land lead lefts and lead uppercuts. There were no angles of assault left unexplored or unscored. At one point we saw him adopt the “Clottey-esque” shell defense, and allow the solid former Puerto Rican Champion a chance to unload. But it was to no avail. He evaded, he escaped the ropes, and he made the slightly bigger manlook small—infinitesimal!The recently dethroned, Miguel Cotto, is a fighter who is hard not to like. He’s a boxer, a puncher, a proud father, a warrior, a former champion, a marketable face, and a probable victim of the sport of boxing. He is becoming the quintessential “tragic hero” figure of modern pugilism. The probability of betrayal by the “loaded hands” of Margarito, have undoubtedly left physical and emotional scars on the psyche of this former World Champion. And just as these scars appeared to be in their final phase of the healing process, we fed this man to a “Lion” for the sake of our own viewing pleasure. Cotto has now been “sacrificed” twice. Once justly, and once unjustly. Unfortunately, for Miguel Cotto, this kind of dramatic win is exactly what Mr. Pacquiao needed. The kind of win that quiets the naysayers and gives “peripheral” boxing fans a reason to once again become loyal viewers. No one can make reference to Pac Man fighting an “old man” like Delahoya, or fighting a non-technical (dumb) fighter in Hatton. On Saturday night, Pacquiao obliterated a true welter weight that has been feared in his division since he defeated Sugar Shane Mosley. And he did it in devastating fashion. In a country dominated by Facebook, the iPhone, and Reality TV, HBO's "24/7" starring Mr. Pacquiao have allowed the possibility for boxing to once again compete on the stage of American Pop-Culture. The Pride of the Philippines is no longer a super star, he’s a Mega Star. The protagonist that the antagonist, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., has been patiently awaiting. I am unashamed to say that I will be running out to Best Buy to purchase my copy of WAPAKMAN as soon as it becomes available. With 21 seconds left in the 4th round, I knew I was watching history. 7 Titles in 7 Weight Divisions. Now that is simply, MANNI-FICENT. Pacquiao vs. Cotto: The Prediciton 10/28/2010
 by Troy J. Hines 10/23/09 It has been said in regards to Prize Fighting that a good big man will beat a good little man any day of the week. But what about a GREAT little man? Let’s back up a minute. Who is Mr. Hines referring to? Most people would probably believe that I am referring to Pacman, as the“little man”, because most people are still under the fallacious impression that Cotto is the much BIGGER guy. Let’s look at the tale of the tape:Height: Cotto 5’7”/ Pacquiao 5’6” ½: Advantage Cotto by ½ inchReach: Cotto 67 in/ Pacquiao 67 in: EVENChest Normal: Cotto 39 in/ Pacquiao 38 in: Advantage Cotto by an inchChest Expanded: Cotto 41 in/ Pacquiao 41 in: EVENForearm: Cotto 12”/ Pacquiao 12”: EVENThigh: Cotto 22.5”/ Pacquiao 20”: Advantage CottoNeck: Cotto 16” / Pacquaio 16”: EVENFist: Cotto 11”/ Pacquiao 10”: Advantage Cotto by an inchSIZETo say Cotto is the bigger guy would be an honest, but sophomoric, answer that hides the truth via the lack of details. There is no significance in size that changes the outcome of this fight. But edges in Speed, Power, Chin, and Skill are significant.SPEEDThe speed edge goes to the South Paw from the Phillipines-- Mr. Pacquiao. He has the faster hands, and is more complex than just his signature overhand left. Credits go to Freddie Roach and the genetic master himself—GOD!POWERThe power edge goes to the” Boricua de Caguas”-- Sr. Cotto. I believe his thunderous shots are the reason many believe he is the bigger man-- he throws “bigger”. Of course this is only my opinion. After all, I haven’t allowed either gentleman to hit me in the liver. But if we want to look at knockout percentages Pacquiao’s is 75% of his wins. Sr. Cotto—79%. Actually 0.794117, but who’s counting? CHINThe Chin edge goes to Pacman even though he was knocked out twice early in his career. I have seen too many fighters wobble the gifted and talented Miguel Cotto, with the inabilityto finish him. Ricardo Torres, Zab Judah, and even DC’s own DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley hurt the heavy punching Puerto Rican. I would have mentioned earlier the Cotto/ Margarito Classic, but there are too many question marks on the use of DRY WALL in connection with the “Tijuana Tornado” to comment. But Pacquiao is of another breed. He’s a finisher!SKILLThe last and most important column of discussion is SKILL. In the words of legendary trainer Roger Mayweather, “The fighter with the most skill is going to win the fight…” Cotto’s most impressive victory to date, in my opinion, is his win against Sugar Shane Mosley. Although he won by a narrow margin, he won, and he arguably out boxed one of the best pure boxers, pound-4-pound, on the planet. Make no mistake, Miguel Cotto, is a dangerous boxer whocan fight orthodox or south paw making him arguably one of the most skillful fighters in the sport. Similarly, Manny Pacquaio’s most impressive wins to date are against the “Golden Boy” and Ricky Hatton. I am purposely not mentioning his win against Marquez, because in my opinion he LOST the rematch. In addition, it is without question that the coach of “The Pride of the Phillipines”, Freddie Roach, has given the formerly one-handed fighter, two dangerous hands. So who does Mr. Hines give the advantage of skill to? I’m calling it EVEN.So let’s recap: Size—EVEN… Speed—Pacquaio… Power—Cotto… Chin—Pacquiao… Skill—Even… In my opinion I would favor Pacquiao 2:1, Pacquiao’s innate aggression and speed will make the difference in this fight. Cotto’s best opportunities will come by setting traps for the aggressive South Paw and countering. Stick and move! |
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