WON’T BE A FIGHT FOR VERY LONG
Las Vegas, NV– Having went to the usual haunts to talk boxing this week, the Mexican taco joints, sports bars, the car wash, it seems people await Manny Pacquiao’s challenge of Miguel Cotto this Saturday with a high level of expectation that the fight will deliver.
SPEED KILLS AND SO DOES MANNY
The old adage, speed kills, well it will certainly be a factor should the opening bell clang and Pacquiao is allowed to move about the ring. If you look at the Oscar De La Hoya or Ricky Hatton fights from a Pacquiao perspective, you’d think that Manny is unbeatable when he is not! But if he can get Cotto to follow him around, it would make his connecting with his “money” punch almost inevitable.
OPENING ROUND CRUCIAL ONE HERE
That first round should dictate how the fight will progress. With Pacquiao, 47-3-2, 37 KOs, darting in and out, and Cotto waving at the wind, Manny starts piling up points in the early going. Time and again he will sting Cotto, and while Miguel has probably been hit harder, the Filipino’s punch placement is unsurpassed as he can get that left cross, his money punch in on Cotto with ease.
COTTO TO GO THE WAY OF HATTON
If Manny goes with an all out assault from the get go, then Cotto might end up doing a Ricky Hatton impersonation, succumbing early and giving the Filipino people another night of glory. It will be about speed and being left handed. If Cotto allows himself to be stung sans a dramatic counter attack, then the fight will go to Manny Pacquiao via TKO before round nine.
TOMORROW PART II: COTTO WINS & WHY
Pedro Fernandez