Boxing Updates

Taking New Measure Of Manny Pacquiao's Success

2009-08-06T17:54:00.002-07:00

Anyone who's traded elbows in this space with Manny Pacquiao's fans know what a freaking phenomenon the man has become, and it's hard to dispute the ring accomplishments of the junior welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king. But there have been some recent new indicators of his success that, taken collectively, suggest he's bigger still than I realized.

Forbes a half-dozen weeks ago listed him as the sixth-highest paid athlete in the world -- tied with LeBron James. He also made the Celebrity 100 list.
Last week, he cracked Yahoo!'s top 10 most-searched list. He was just a spot behind Megan Fox. On Google Trends, he's launched well past the other best-known active boxer, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
In the ESPYs, which aired a few weeks ago, he won the award for "Fighter of the Year," and, receiving the widespread sports-world recognition few boxers get these days, he was up for "Best Play," too, with his knockout of Ricky Hatton losing to Ben Roethlisberger's Super Bowl-winning pass to Santonio Holmes.

Almost every week it's something -- Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter love him (but Kobe loses a "best athlete" poll to him), Sylvester Stallone wants to make a movie with him, he breaks into the Time 100 list of most influential people, he gets a new job... It's almost getting to the point that no hyperbole involving Pacquiao is that much of a stretch anymore.

Let me give it a try: If Pacquiao fights Floyd Mayweather in 2010, it will accelerate by two years the Mayan end-times prophecy. I don't care if that prophecy's a myth or not. Believe me, IT WILL HAPPEN.

(Megan: Hotter than Manny, but just by a smidge.)

Pacquiao fumbles, Cotto recovers precious pounds

2009-08-06T17:54:00.001-07:00

(AP Photo)

Miguel Cotto must be clowning around.

If he’s not then he should immediately turn in his WBO welterweight title strap and go down to Burger King and get himself one of those paper crowns they give to the little kids.

Either Cotto is making a mockery out being a world champion or, in the alternative, he is cleverly beating Manny Pacquiao into dropping his camp's requirement that their Nov. 14 Las Vegas PPV bout be at a maximum of 145 pounds.

And Cotto and his legal adviser, WBC affiliated Gabriel Penagaricano, are using another Puerto Rican lawyer, WBO president “Paco” Valcarcel as their straw man on the issue.

For the first time I view the Cotto side as cagily weaseling on the 145 limit verbal agreement, not to cheat Pacman at his chance of making history by winning a world title belt in a record seventh weight class, but get back those precious two pounds.

If the bigger, presumably stronger Boricua Bomber can hit the scales on Friday at a full 147 pounds, think of what a huge monster he will be going into the ring 28 hours later (Saturday night around 9pm Vegas time).

All these remarks about Valcarcel and the $150,000 sanctioning fee for each boxer are just fan foolers, it’s the additional two pounds plus his post weight in weight gain that Cotto is looking to grab.

Over at Boxingscene, Mark Vester scribbled about the situation and referred to remarks those involved made in San Juan newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

Here’s what Vester wrote, in part:

"If the fight is at 147-pounds, that is the limit. If he weights more than that, then you are at junior middleweight. But with one or two pounds less, you are still inside the limit," Paco told El Nuevo Dia. "We (the WBO) have the responsibility... that if a fight is going to be inside the welterweight limit, then it has to be for the title."

The Cotto clan does agree with Paco’s position. They view Paco as a good businessman who is trying to grab a sanctioning fee of $150,000. Since Paco was not involved in the negotiations, Cotto says the WBO president should not involve himself in the dispute.

"If he requires me to, I will gladly give him a letter of resignation. I do not have any problems with that. But in the rough draft of the contracts, the fight was not for the title. That was what we agreed on,” said Cotto to El Nuevo Dia. "For my previous fight. I weighed 146 pounds, but the contract stipulated 147 pounds and the fight was for the WBO title. For this fight the [contract] said 145 pounds and the title was not on the line.”

Did Cotto and or Penagaricano ever really think they were going to get a huge guarantee of about $5 million, far more than Cotto has ever been paid, and not have to put the WBO trinket on the line?

That defies rational belief unless the Pacquiao interests dropped the ball completely on the issue.

Don’t forget, even though Pacman is his ultimate cash cow, Top Rank’s Bob Arum is in the middle here, repping both fighters under his promotional tent.

I come back to the same question, who is the boxing brain, the negotiator for Pacquiao?

I’m starting to think it’s an empty chair.

If Manny’s interests had been competently represented in this key matter, it wouldn’t be in the foggy condition it is right now.

As my old boss Howard Cosell used to bark, “Who goofed, I’ve got to know!”

Manny Pacquiao – Miguel Cotto: The Breakdown

2009-08-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

The consensus is that the P4P entrant Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, 49-3-2, 37 KO’s, has no equal. The phenomenal Pinoy package from General Santos City, Philippines, has defied the odds from whereat he started as a budding super flyweight—until now—and there’s no telling how much he’ll want to reach and go.

The latest anticipated war he’s about to engage in is a face-off with Miguel Angel Cotto, 34-1, 27 KO’s.

Cotto, for some reason or another comes across as a quiet and humble disciple…with abundances of discipline not seen in most fighters. His continuous obedience to Bob Arum has taught me a real sense of humility—which I have often wondered looking at would be the perfect definition to loyalty.

Loyalty works both ways, and Miguel Cotto has given as well as he’s taken to being the model prizefighter who painstakingly stayed a super lightweight for the beneficial growth we’re about to embark on in seeing.

Whether Miguel took to an inhumane dieting to remain a sacrificial lamb for Pacquiao remains to be seen. Cotto has broken off with his Uncle Evangelista Cotto, in quest of his new trainer and dietician-health provider Mr. Santiago, a parcel of what MAC had for infusing debatable strategy to other heights—amongst other things.

Take nothing of how Miguel and Evangelista took to the streets fist fighting in Puerto Rico to make the breakup any more official, and you have a Miguel Cotto that’s determined to place his destiny in plain sight in spite whatever dysfunction you may or may not have to say about it.

GBP Sugar Shane Mosley rushed to a sales pitch of 140 pound to disrupt Cotto-Pacquiao negotiations, but the GDP in their fight showed insurmountable numbers for the Pan Pacific-Caribbean US territories, and the United States. In theory, Pacquiao is going to be brutalized. And I still can’t believe he accepted Cotto’s conditional weigh-in proposition much as I find it amusing to hear Mosley willing to fight at a disservice 140.

Why? Either Mosley knows he can beat them with one hand tied behind his back, or we’re just all delusional. Manny’s speed for avoidance to engage isn’t going to help getting offensively popped by Cotto, but the possibility could be there that Cotto poops a little out on his gas tank.

Power Department

Pac isn’t going to be the big welterweight in the ring, Cotto will be. He’s an accurate precision puncher who wastes no moves, warranted indefensible body attacks worked from hard jabs—and almost never neglects those lascivious left hooks of his. His right hand is also powerful.

Put it this way, does anybody think Manny can hold up to Cotto’s punches? Maybe 143 would have been his better bet, however this fight isn’t at junior welterweight …but in welterweight, a weight Cotto can easily fly within his normal weight like a plain dead lift, should be his strengths.

Miguel Cotto is the bigger guy.

Manny should be moving as fast as his legs could take him, jabbing and extremely leery of that resourceful left hook accompanied unparallel overhand rights of Cotto’s. He’ll box smartly for the early rounds, but so will Cotto.

On Manny’s power under the microscope, his demolition over Ricky Hatton has been an eyebrow raiser; it is Pacquiao’s job to convince whether the speculation is correct about Miguel Cotto’s full welterweight status.

Speed

Pacquiao uses his variety of punches to ease up on his appropriate place of picking things up. He is known to steal precious rounds in even closer fights.

For the Boricua Cotto, a pressure fighter—who by defeating Sugar Shane Mosley at a punchers game became rudimentary—as the result shortly turned elementary, is why we’re here talking Cotto - Pacquiao today. November’s 2007 Sugar Shane misconstrued his byproduct of 8-ounce boxing gloves to derail Cotto—and instead found no solace for the inside—or any arbitration outside, as Cotto retained his WBA Welterweight title by decision in his second defense wearing Mosley’s preferred punchers’ mitts.

Guts (Intestinal Fortitude)

Making no misnomer about Manny Pacquiao, he’s won six world titles in staggering fashion hence 112 thru junior-welterweight classes. And last year the diminutive Pacman superimposed his wherewithal to the Henry Armstrong theme winning belts at 130 and 135 pounds defeating Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez and David Diaz, but his world celebration toasted glasses in droves when he thwarted “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya as a welterweight, a peculiarly bigger world drawn by that feat having worked for what he had sown in 2008.

His one-punch knockout over Hatton in El Segundo de Mayo in round 2 of this year showed he was about as “junior-welterweight” as his brethren Ricky laid sprawled on his back getting counted out…. not to mention Pacman actually attaining and lifting an elusive junior welterweight strap off of Ricky’s waist in the process.

Pacquiao wasn’t intent on returning after defeating golden boy thru the name limitations of a banned Antonio Margarito fighting in the US, to a Paul “The Punisher” Williams who fights two higher weights from 147, but now he’s gotten sucked in for an upcoming HBO Pay-Per-View MGM Grand spectacular in November.

Cotto’s acquisition process was made inside Top Rank’s stable all the while, and the native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Three-time champion Miguel Cotto has always answered the call. Currently the most exciting fighter in Puerto Rican tradition since Felix Trinidad, Cotto, remains the island’s frontrunner along with 122 pound junior featherweight sensation, Juanma Lopez, who runs a close second.

Cotto won numerous awards in Spanish media, and has been the guaranteed ticket seller of Madison Square Garden this decade in years. A former WBO Light Welterweight Champion, and six-time defender 2004-06, Cotto’s also the former WBA Welterweight Champion captured in 2006, and in his most recent, the WBO Welterweight Title won last February with his stunning KO over Michael Jennings in the fifth.

MAC has been the head of his herd as an original throwback prizefighter for the ages.

His early going consisted of professional prizefights averaging three in a seven-week stretch; and Miguel became so adamant about staying active that he trailed behind nobody in arriving early; and the last to leave at the gym.

He’s nixed Sugar Shane Mosley and Zab Judah in his most satisfying wins to date.

Weight

Does Miguel Cotto’s WBO Welterweight Title placed on the line really matter?

Will the sanctioning fee be a walkover for a real challenge he faces, because up till now about the only thing that should be pristine is the ultimate meet for The Ring’s P4P entrant, and titles will undoubtedly have to take a backseat when it comes to the elite in the game. The weights are particularly unconscionable to be placed other than a “Catch-weight” for MAC, shortened a couple pounds, though no sanctioning body would ever in there right minds attempt to not consider one way or another the victor deserving it. Two, three, what the heck make it four pounds tipped on the scale makes no difference whatsoever come fight time.

Does anybody really want to dispute that Miguel wouldn’t be closer to super welterweight come fight time? No I didn’t think so. Manny won’t be far behind for this one; and much unlike the one he came in for golden boy in which he swift and sleekly incorporated to outspend and out hustle Oscar…. Pacquiao will use his few extra pounds in the dais to show a more composite sketch with less density for his adversary to accommodate satisfactory levels each. Strength will play a huge part in the fight—with a bailout plan in skills for each combatant.

Money ($)

There is the approximate speculation that Cotto can earn up to 15 million dollars for this fight. Pacquiao will roughly get 12 1/2 million—plus a minimum of 3 million as an extra-added bonus incentive of the Pay-Per-View revenue deservedly—and at these gaudy prices its expectant a “Fight of The Year,” merited especially if it’ll live up to the kind of hoopla rematches fans ogle over.

Pride

They’ll be plenty nationalistic pride in the match. The Typhoon versus the Hurricane, Taino versus Pinoy, however what it really comes down to is a colossal strike that will leave one combatant feeling the effects.

Which one will win?

A side bit of record Henry Armstrong in Los Angels fought 10 hard rounds March 1st 1940; having the sentiment in appearing to have defeated middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia; if it weren’t for referee George Blake calling it a draw—Armstrong would have conquered a fourth world title.

Histrionics

On March 12, 1959, Carlos Ortiz won the vacant junior-welterweight title when Kenny Lane refused to come out to commence the third round. The renaissance of that would begin to pay dividends—as Ortiz beat the contention to his throne. A hellish thought crept in the mind of Ortiz’s manager, and before long Carlos dropped weight in order for a shot at the more glamorized Lightweight division of which Joe Brown held the distinction.

So on April 21st 1962, in Las Vegas, Ortiz’s welterweight frame wouldn’t be an understatement if we chose to say looked no less frail in his new skin…and pounced a 15 round decision over the lineal Ex-Lightweight champ Joe.

Philippines hurdler Flash Elorde was arguably the longstanding junior-lightweight that decade who actually fought in several other weights occasionally, but his official mantra was 130.

His staying power enormous; speed impeccable, and boxing style? Let’s just say one of the best to be witnessed as an All-time future great. Talk gathered, Ortiz’s virtual duality in the ranks got people to thinking. How could he remain undisputedly top tier both Lineal Super Lightweight and Lightweight for a challenge?

To add to the often times exaggerated talk about the psychology behind him having demons fighting alcohol (whisky his preferred drink at the time), that it made Ortiz one mean hombre who would knockdown a wall need be preventing him from his lifestyle to some degree. There had to be an overabundance amount of overly confident swag to the Elorde entourage upon hearing Ortiz’s exploits, and the more news that came out that he liked strong drink, the more it enticed.

For all we know the rumors might’ve invited tees to the elixir of privilege, an almost valid observation if Team-Elorde only knew how it angered the Lightweight Champion. What they didn’t know behind the scenes was that when it came to training Ortiz… he became reclusive to the extent of ominous and unfathomable concentration. Roadwork and plenty fish oil foods with chuck stakes were fed to Carlos to truly restore his physical stature for a fit fighter.

There were cantankerous rumors surfacing that in the Lane fight they held up a bottle of whisky to ravel his nerve and commitment to fire upon his adversary; a ploy that if so enraged Ortiz to the point of the result why Kenny Lane refused to come out of his corner. Carlos by now earned the reputation to cave ribs, and fracture cheek bones with a vengeance and kind of fervor unseen in most prizefighters.

Always have been trainers who get to know what buttons to push in their fighter; and I suspect Ortiz’s trainer knew his. Former John Ruiz trainer Norman Stone might not be your conventional trainer; but with it he understood John on what exactly made him tick; and without it we wouldn’t have seen not two; but three suburb fights in the Heavyweight Evander Holyfield wars!

Sales went on in high volume for the anticipated fight between Ortiz and Elorde. The easy misnomer of bum entered in thoughts about what Ortiz was really made of. Yes Elorde was presumed the best junior-lightweight on the planet; and his record spoke for itself in being the second to none uninterrupted 130 reign that time; until Sammy Serrano took the longest reign in junior-lightweight history tenure; but for the major duration Flash’s carrier ruling the 130 pound category he was very ruthless, savvy, and a phantasm of a boxer few could locate inside the ring, until the date of February 1964, and in a display of savagery and guile, no day after Valentine’s Day could be a misfortune in not recognizing agonizing at the amount of bleeding from the cuts Elorde withstood, nonetheless recognizable in Manila, Philippines, from the battering. Ortiz retained his Lightweight crown by TKO victory in the fourteenth.

Wouldn’t be till April 1965 when Ortiz lost by decision to Ismael Laguna (W 15) in Panama, and regained it from the guy who took it that November returned in kindness (W 15). However that blemish on Elorde’s record kept coming back to haunt him—wouldn’t leave well alone be and wanted that illustrious Lightweight title, and in New York, on November 28th 1966, a monstrous combination by the Puerto Rican floors Flash Elorde for the first time in his career—and Ortiz takes his time to pick him apart—only this hour Carlos Ortiz insists to make the initial repeat performance stick like a branding iron, kayoing Elorde in deliberate fashion in the 14th round!

Cotto-Pacquiao glove story: No pillows, just two mules kicking

2009-08-05T20:36:00.002-07:00

It’s not hard to find pillows in the humungous MGM Grand Hotel-Casino.

But there won’t be any in the ring on Nov. 14 when Miguel Angel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao collide in a PPV TV main event which is aptly titled “Fire Power.”

One topic the two camps, which have fussed over everything else, are in harmony on is their mutual request to use eight ounce gloves, probably the Mexican made “puncher’s choice,” Reyes.

I spoke with Nevada boxing commission chieftain Keith Kizer and he said the glove story for the momentous November showdown is all good.

“Above 135 pounds and up to 147 pounds, it’s up to the fighters whether they use eight or 10 ounce gloves,” Kizer said. “If they both agree to go with the eights, we let them.

“If one fighter does not agree, then guys in those weights fight with the 10 ounce gloves.”

Kizer said Nevada had a test period of about 18 months and then studied whether it was safer for boxers in those weights to use the bigger or smaller gloves.

“We looked ast the data and it was inconclusive. So we decided to give the boxers more control, to have this option to agree on the eights. We decided to give the fighters the voice on this.”

Above the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, the 10 ounce gloves must be used. Even that created a problem for hulking heavyweights Big George Foreman and Lennox Lewis, Kizer said.

“George and Lennox had problems fitting their hands in them but they did it,” Kizer said.

Kizer said that Nevada permits the promoter to supply “any recognized brand of gloves. We won’t accept something someone made in their garage.

“The four brands we usually get are Reyes, Everlast, Grant and the Winning gloves from Japan. Erik Morales, who had hand problems, liked the Winning glove because of his hand issues.”

Reyes remains the first choice of most Mexican boxers, Kizer said.

“As a group, the Hispanic boxers seem to prefer Reyes which is made in Mexico. Reyes has the reputation of being the best gloves for heavy hitters.”

Kizer said he found it interesting that an internal look at the four more popular brands showed slight differences.

“Every brand of glove is somewhat different,” Kizer said. “Some have horsehair, some have foam and some have a mixture of both inside the glove.”

In recent years both manufacturer Ringside and the historic Everlast brand have made what they refer to and market as “a Mexican style” glove. The obvious reference is to Reyes.

(As a sidelight, I heard stories through the years that there were two Reyes brothers who began their glovemaking company. Some years ago, a brand called Seyer popped up.

That’s Reyes spelled backwards and the tale I heard was the brothers named Cleto and Carlos had a dispute and went their separate ways. I think Seyer is no longer in business.)

Like Everlast, Reyes has stood the test of time.

So Cotto and Megamanny concur on their weapons of choice.

You talk about horsehair, I see explosive punching which could remind us of Mike Tyson’s vivid description of the punching power of Donovan “Razor” Ruddock.

Power puncher Tyson once said “Ruddock punches like a mule kicks.”

Two mules will be kicking come Nov. 14.

Frugal but not crazy, Arum pays the cost for Pacquiao-Cotto title bout

2009-08-05T20:36:00.001-07:00

Frugal would be one way to characterize veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum.

Cheapskate would be another.

But, having heard the worldwide roar, the vox populi from Manny Pacquiao’s fans across the world, Arum is digging deep into his pocket to pay the $150,000 WBO welterweight title sanctioning fees for both champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Pacman.

Arum has even made this pledge public after being overwhelmed with protests from Pacquiao followers and then from Manny himself when talk continued about the Nov. 14 bout at the MGM Grand being a non-title bout.

So, if you think Arum is aggravated by continual smoke signals coming out of Puerto Rican lawyer Gabriel Penagaricano Junior’s office that Cotto defending his strap is “open to negotiation,” you are correct, sir or madam.

Arum views the Cotto camp’s stubborn stance as part of a Boricua feud between Penagaricano, who is affiliated with the WBC and WBO leader and San Juan attorney Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel.

But it still bugs the Las Vegas based promoter who handles Manny and Miguel.

“It’s some local situation, I guess,” Arum said Tuesday. “I don’t want to get involved in whatever it is. Look, Paco is a good guy and we have the situation all worked out. I am paying the freight for both sides here.

“It is a world title fight and making a fuss is silly. Can you see anything more stupid than Cotto refusing to defend the title and losing it for that reason? Would anything be more asinine?”

I asked Arum about the Juan Manuel Marquez-Floyd Mayweather Golden Boy PPV card Sept. 19 going head to head against UFC 103.

He refused to comment, saying, “I am not going to get involved on that except to say it’s not a situation that is good for either side.”

Always willing to look on the bright side in his own backyard, Arum mentioned that the UFC show on Nov. 14 will be taped delayed and shown not on PPV but on the Spike cable network.

Arum said the Pacquiao-Cotto series of press conferences will have a heavy mix of baseball stars with events at Yankee Stadium and in San Francisco.

“In San Francisco, the press conference will go after the Dodgers-Giant game and there could be 50,000 people there,” Arum said.

Yankee fan and Brooklyn native Arum is pleased that his team’s top stars will be at the Bronx presser.

“It’s going to be like an All Star team with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and CC Sabathia all coming. They’re all fans and they all want to come to the fight in Vegas.”

Now pitching, Number 77 (soon to be 78), Robert Arum.

Yesterday he was a reliever, today he is a starter.

Why Cotto Will Destroy Pacquiao

2009-07-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve changed my mind about the November 14th fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. I originally saw the fight going for Pacquiao because of figured him and his trainer Freddie Roach would install some medieval catch weight that would leave Cotto too weak and drained to make a fight of it. But now that I’ve had time to look at the new variables with the catch weight only being 145 rather than say 142or 143, I think Cotto is going to wipe the deck with Pacquiao.

It saddens me because we’ll be seeing Pacquiao forced to eat his humble pie but heck, it was bound to happen sooner or late.

Pacquiao should have had a whole face full of defeat with his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last year in March, but Pacquiao instead was given the win in one of the worst scored fights I’ve ever seen in my life. Just horrible scoring in that fight and no way should Pacquiao have won that bout. At any rate, I’m willing to put that fight behind me and forget about it all while I focus my attention on the Cotto-Pacquiao.

Like I was saying, Cotto is going to literally wipe the deck with the little Filipino and give him a lesson he won’t soon forget. Pacquiao would have gotten that painful lesson in his fight with Ricky Hatton in May, but the British fighter lost his fool head and went out there with some primitive caveman fighting style and got taken out. If Hatton had the brains to fight smart in the bout, he would have had the chance to hurt Pacquiao and give him a taste of real power.

I don’t think Pacquiao would have stood up for more than few rounds of Hatton’s big shots without going to pieces under the strength of his shots. But Hatton messed up and went out there like rank amateur and blew his chance. Cotto isn’t going to make that mistake you can bet on it. He’ll take his time, use his jab, right hand and high guard and coast for the first four rounds or so and let Pacquiao exhaust himself a little.

Once the fight gets past the 4th round, Cotto will start attacking Pacquiao’s body with huge hooks and give him a taste of power that he’s never seen before in his career. Pacquiao’s sparring partners and his trainer Freddie Roach won’t be able to prepare him for the torture he’s going to have to ensure at the hands of Cotto. This isn’t going to be a case of Cotto fighting a fighter his own size like Shane Mosley.

This is going to be Cotto whipping on a little fighter much smaller and weaker than him. Pacquiao will be faster, but speed is nothing when you don’t have the power like Cotto has. When Cotto discovers that Pacquiao doesn’t punch that hard, that’s when the beating is going to begin. Oscar De La Hoya said it himself that Pacquiao doesn’t hit that hard. He knows.

The only reason why De La Hoya lost was cause he was too weight drained from coming down from 154. Plus, De La Hoya was an old fighter by the time he fought Pacquiao and was essentially semi-retired at the time of the fight. Okay, so once Cotto realizes that Pacquiao has nothing in the way of power, he’s going to start torturing Pacquiao and beating him like an old rug.

This is going to be much worse than Cotto’s beating of Paulie Malignaggi in 2006 in which Cotto fractured Malignaggi’s orbital bone and beat him nearly senseless. This is going to be much worse than that. Cotto is going to make Pacquiao suffer and let him stick around so that he can toy with him for the full 12 rounds and show who the master is.

Now if Cotto is feeling generous, I think he’ll take Pacquiao out by the 7th or 8th round, but I think he’s going to let the fight linger and go the full 12 rounds so that he can toy with Pacquiao like a cat with a mouse. Afterwards, Pacquiao, badly beaten, will be cradled and mothered by Roach as he leads him out of the ring in defeat. And Cotto will be glorified with his career once again back to where it was last year before his defeat at the hands of the powerful Mexican puncher Antonio Margarito.

Is Cotto Damaged Goods?

2009-07-31T02:04:00.002-07:00

By Dave Lahr: ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas made mention of Miguel Cotto looking like damaged goods last Friday night during the FNF telecast, remarking on how Cotto didn’t look good in his fight with Joshua Clottey in June and looked ready to quit during the later rounds. Atlas raised a very good point about Cotto. He doesn’t seem to be the same fighter he was before his fight with Antonio Margarito last year in July.

Cotto controlled much of that fight for the first nine rounds, but was tired out and was hurt at the end of the 10th round by a big uppercut from Margarito. In the 11th round, Cotto twice took a knee to escape the punishment that Margarito was dishing out to him in the round. The fight was stopped by Cotto’s corner after the second time that Cotto took a knee.

Although Cotto didn’t really get hit all that much in the fight, the punishment he did take in both the 10th and the 11th rounds, left his face a mess, making him look as if he had taken a severe beating in the fighting. It’s unclear how much damage that Margarito did internally to Cotto’s brain.

Cotto wasn’t really hurt by any of Clottey’s shots in their June 13th fight, yet Cotto looked like he was there for the taking during several of the later rounds. Cotto looked like he was ready to quit again for awhile there. Clottey, however, didn’t have the work rate to finish Cotto off and ended up losing a close 12-round split decision.

But the way that Cotto looked in the later rounds, he seemed to be confused, worried and giving up on himself. It was like looking at a replay of the 10th and 11th rounds against Margarito. Cotto looked like a shell of himself.

It’s very lucky for him that he was fighting Clottey rather than a more active welterweight like Shane Mosley, Margarito or Andre Berto otherwise I think Cotto would have lost the fight. Could it be that Cotto haunted by the Margarito fight? Is this the lingering effects of that fight or is a neurological problem?

With the way that Cotto looked against Clottey, it’s not a good thing that he’s now fighting Manny Pacquiao on November 14th. Cotto really needs a couple of fights against easier competition to build up his confidence and see whether he has a chin problem that’s lingering from the Margarito loss. We learned nothing from Cotto’s 5th round stoppage win over Michael Jennings in Cotto’s first fight after his loss to Margarito, because Jennings, a light puncher, barely laid a glove on Cotto that night.

But, we did see Cotto struggle badly as he went life and death with Clottey last month. That fight left a troubling feeling in my mind about Cotto. He doesn’t look like the same fighter he used to be and probably is making a huge mistake in fighting Pacquiao at this time.

I think Clottey actually won the fight, but Cotto, the more popular fighter, got a gift decision on that night. It might have been better had Cotto lost the fight, because at least he’d be rebuilding his career more slowly instead of rushing from his poor performance (his second in his last three fights) against Clottey into a fight with Pacquiao.

It’s too bad, because Pacquiao won’t get the credit that he’s seeking if he beats Cotto, because Miguel simply doesn’t seem to be the same fighter mentally that he was before his loss to Margarito. This is why the choice of opponents for Pacquiao was pretty poor. I can understand why his promoter Bob Arum pushed for Pacquiao to fight Cotto, since he also promotes Cotto. But it may be a fight where Cotto had wished that he didn’t take at this point.

Manny Pacquiao needs to clean his own house right now

2009-07-31T02:04:00.001-07:00

Right now it's Miguel Cotto who is ahead on points against Team Pacquiao (AP Photo)

I don’t need HBO’s unofficial judge Harold Lederman to tell me who is ahead in the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto preflight fight.

I give the first round to the Boricua Bomber and his legal adviser, Gabriel Penagaricano Jr., by a 10-8 margin due to knockdowns.

Seriously, while all the controversy has pumped up Pacquiao-Cotto big time even before tickets go on sale, it has been strictly “Amateur Night in Dixie” for Team Pacquiao.

For a millisecond, let’s put aside the endless brouhaha about whether Cotto will risk his WBO welterweight crown against Megamanny and talk about other issues.

They are:

1. NO SIGNED CONTRACT: Meaning that the so called verbal agreements about a 145 pound weight limitation and anything else are not worth the paper they are not printed on. Let’s make it clear that Cotto is in the driver’s seat as the Pacman camp has poorly played its strong hand. You cannot blame Penagaricano from squeezing both promoter Bob Arum and Team Pacquiao like a lemon. No signed contract means no signed contract meaning that only spoken words have been exchanged here.

2.PACMAN MUST DROP HIS TWO POUND CRUTCH: This may have been Cotto’s two-pronged ploy from the get go, milking Arum for more dough in the bout contract and a new promotional contract or extension of same and also getting around the 145 pound limit insisted upon by Coach Freddie Roach and the other members of Pacman’s team.

(AP Photo)

3. PUTTING WBO PRESIDENT VALCARCEL’S HEAD IN A VISE: He lives in and practices law in San Juan. Do you think Paco wants to be the villain who strips an extremely popular Boricua of his title for not fighting top contender Pacman especially when he knows neither Cotto nor Manny have any particular loyalty to his Alphabet Group? (Kudos to Boxeomundial.com's Jose Martino for gleaning the fact that the WBO is insisting that Cotto pay a sanction fee ($150,000 cap) even if his bout with Pacman is a non title affair.

4. ARUM SHOULD HAVE PUT THIS BOUT TO BED BEFORE HIS HOLIDAY ROMP IN ITALY: I can understand a 77 year old rich guy taking a nice vacation with but couldn’t Todd duBoef, his stepson and Top Rank president, have tied up the loose ends here? I mean, was he just too busy with Latin Fury or inking heavyweight ne’er do well Samuel Peter? or maybe duBoef, an able fellow, was too swamped carving out a new or extended contract with Cotto.

5. DID MICHAEL KONCZ GET LOST IN AN AIRPORT: Is he Pac’s Man or Arum’s Main Main? They say no man can serve two masters. What is he doing messing around with undercard fighters when Manny’s business has not been properly handled? He may be from Canada but the Cotto camp has skated rings around him and MP lawyer Jeng “Jackal” Gacal.

Suddenly, having Sugar Shane Mosley “sitting in the on deck circle” (Arum’s exact words) does not seem so ludicrous or farfetched, does it?

And he not only willing but eager to take the short end of the financial stick and agree to a weight limit, or so he said, of 140 pounds.

Maybe it’s time for Pacquiao to clear out of the welterweight division entirely. And that includes the inevitable Floyd Mayweather Jr. megabout.

I know one true thing and that is Team Pacquiao needs a housecleaning and needs it now.

Otherwise, it will continue to be Amateur Night in Pacland.

Time to banish some of these Slumdog Millionaires, Manny.

Suddenly, Sugar Shane Seems Sweeter

2009-07-31T02:03:00.000-07:00

When Manny Pacquiao told Bob Arum he wanted to fight Miguel Cotto next, all eyes fell on Cotto. But it seems Cotto sees a grave risk to his career if he fights Manny Pacquiao next. At 28 Cotto is not ready to get retired as has been the case of the last two fighters who faced Manny.

What is $150,000 sanctioning fee compared to the extra million dollars that goes Cotto’s way if he fights Pacquiao instead of some other opponent? It seems that the WBO 147-lb belt graciously given to Cotto is being used by the Cotto camp not more on squeezing some more dollars for Cotto but on how to avoid a Pacquiao fight.

The 145-lb catch weight is not an excuse for the fight to be non-titled. Any weight beyond 140 and below 148 lbs is welterweight. 147 is only the ceiling for a boxer to not go over to remain a welterweight. The catch weight was presented to address one fighter’s size advantage over the other.

The catch weight is to enable the bigger man who needs it more to fight the smaller man. On paper Cotto needs to fight Manny and not the other way around. On paper and not necessarily in Cotto’s mind.

Cotto doubts he can beat Pacquiao. So there’s no point for Manny to pursue a fight with one who does not want to fight him. Cotto may now be given the graceful exit. Being the gentleman that he is, Manny may now train his sight on one who is interested. The one most interested.

And suddenly, Sugar Shane seems sweeter!

Manny’s next fight is for the history books. How many fighters can win 7 division titles in his boxing career? Should Manny accomplish it, it would be a long time before the feat can be equalled and surpassed. If it’s not for the WBO, there is the WBA, the WBC or the IBF titles.

And Shane Mosley is not just another champion. By the way he destroyed Antonio Margarito, Sugar Shane is a more difficult fight for Manny than with Cotto even at age 37. While Cotto has a win over Mosley, Cotto is not the same fighter now as he was when he fought Mosley. Cotto had become more beatable after his severe beating by Margarito.

Mosley holds the title he took from Margarito who took it from Cotto who took it from...and so on.

And Shane is willing to have a fairer fight by agreeing to concede his size advantage. The fight can be fought at 143 or 145 lbs with the WBA welterweight belt at stake. It should not be at 140. Nothing is sweet in beating a bitter Shane. There is no glory since Manny will not remake history.

It is written by some that Manny might be fighting his last. It has been proven that it is wise to retire while, not only at the top of your division as has been done by Lennox Lewis and Joe Calzaghe lately, but more so when one is at the top of rall. As the pound for pound top dog.

And there’s no sweeter way for Manny to end his fighting career by scoring a win over the suddenly sweet Sugar Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao Poll: What course should Manny take?

2009-07-31T02:02:00.002-07:00

What should Soulja Boy Pacquiao do next?

By popular demand, as the Pacquiao Worldwide Army is on air raid alert, a White Gorilla poll of you the paying customers.

What should Manny Pacquiao do now:

a) Forget about 145 pounds, agree to fight Miguel Cotto for WBO title with 147 limit

b) Fight the Puerto Rican, hold to 145 pound limit, and don’t worry about the belt

c) Tell Cotto to stick it where the Boricua sun don’t shine and fight Shane Mosley at aqreed to contract weight of 140 up to 143 or 144.

d) Demand that Bob Arum make Cotto risk the title and keep to 145 pounds as verbally agreed to.

Post your vote on the Comments section under this article as my email mailbox is limited in space.

Pacquiao doesn't need Cotto or his belt

2009-07-31T02:02:00.001-07:00

Truth be told Manny Pacquiao does not need Miguel Cotto, nor his belt. Just based on both fighters' recent history, it should be Cotto crawling on all fours wanting to fight Pacquiao to revive his slumping career.

I don't know whether Cotto is posturing or is simply stubborn when he said he wouldn't put up his WBO welterweight belt against Pacquiao even if he had to vacate it. Fighting words from the gallant Puerto Rican, but why would Pacquiao care?

If that's the case then Cotto isn't really interested in the biggest payday and break of his career after all. If I was a Team Pacquiao adviser, I'd simply tell Manny to walk and explore his many other options.

Mosley is willing and waiting in the wings and would even go down to 140 and take 40% of the pot just to dance with Manny. Of course there's still the option of paying Marquez step-aside money as Floyd Mayweather Jr. himself suggested and get right down to business with "Money May". Or he can stay in his division and fight the winner of Timothy Bradley and Nate Campbell next week at the Agua Caliente Casino in Palm Springs. Call me T.I. because fact of the matter is Manny, "you can have whatever you like". Such are the rewards of being the best and most popular boxer in the planet. When Cotto actually locates his heart after Antonio Margarito beat the crap out of him and fighting the last four rounds of his controversial win against Joshua Clottey on skates, then he can start acting like a diva.

Really? He will vacate his title just so Pacquiao wouldn't be able to get a shot at it? That's simply disrespectful in my book. You wouldn't even give a much smaller person a shot at a belt he very well deserves if he beats you just because of two almost meaningless pounds? Even when it means you are to get the biggest payday of your career? Really?

Pacquiao did not invent title fights at a catch weight, in fact great boxers like Sugar Ray Leonard have done it before him in the past. The welterweight limit is from 141-147 pounds, the 147 is just the maximum weight they can come in at the weigh-ins. Realistically, Pacquiao is really that small compared to Cotto so the two pounds only makes it sensible. Just a year ago, even Bob Arum himself said imagining Pacquiao in the ring with Cotto was ludicrous and he simply could not see it happening. That was then, this is now. And now all of a sudden it's ridiculous for Pacquiao to ask for a title-fight for asking Cotto to come down 2 pounds?

Let's put things in proper perspective. Pacquiao does not need Cotto right now. Actually, Cotto is fortunate that he is getting all this attention and publicity after his ho-hum victories and devastating loss to Margarito. A lot of people even consider him damaged goods and actually lost to Clottey. That's not to say I agree with that, I personally feel Cotto is still one of the toughest fights for Pacquiao out there but it doesn't mean it's the best fight for him necessarily especially if it would be a beltless fight and if Cotto would go out of his way just to not make it a title-fight. Pacquiao can fight Mosley who is a better sell for American veiwers and Pay-Per-View buyers anyway. You also finally get to see Pacquiao fight an African-American boxer, one of the best at that, as some people have been clamoring for. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but Pacquiao got options... Pacquiao got options....Pac-paca-pac-pa-pac-pac got chiki-chiki op-tions... Pacquiao got op-o-o-options. Broken record, scratch, scribble, dice and transform it, whatever it takes to send the message. Got it? Good. (By the way shout out to my boy DJ QBert, one of the best skratch DJs to have ever lived)

Perhaps somebody whispered something behind Cotto's ear for him to be confident of whatever happens at the moment. It's almost as if he is willing to just finish up his contract with Top Rank against whoever and jump ship to Golden Boy where promised greener pastures await. It makes sense. De la Hoya could have very well guaranteed Cotto a shot at Mayweather or a rematch with Mosley with some serious dough in tow. Nobody really believes that all Cotto and De la Hoya did was a round of golf a couple of weeks ago.

That's besides the point however. Last time I checked, Pacquiao hasn't signed any papers to fight Cotto yet. Cotto is a good opponent but there are better options for Pacquiao out there if Cotto insists on playing hard-to-get. He can go for Mosley's belts at 143 if he wants to rather than negotiate with a fighter people consider as "damaged goods".