Firepower: Pacquiao-Cotto

"Sipain mo! Sipain mo!"


Those were the words I heard as I watched a Pacquiao fight nearly ten years ago at a friend's house. The gentleman beside me screamed at the tv and nearly kicked the tv himself after Pacquiao knock downed his opponent. I laughed heartily and thought about how crazy this guy was.

On Sunday, Manny will be fighting Miguel Angel Cotto.

I've seen Cotto fight and is in fact one of my favorite fighters, outside of Manny. A couple of years ago, Bob Arum, while praising Manny, said that Pac could beat anybody but added, "just keep him away from Cotto".



Quite simply, the statement was made to show how strong and powerful Miguel Cotto was and at Welterweight, was probably unbeatable, even by Manny.



Flashforward to the Antonio Margarito fight, Cotto shows just how good he is especially in the first few rounds. Unfortunately, Marga could take it and, probably with illegal handwraps, pummelled Cotto into submission.



Pac now has an opportunity. The fight is at 145 and PAc is riding high on a 19 round winning streak. There is no doubt in my mind that Pac can beat Cotto. Problem is, I still think Cotto can beat Pacquiao.



The last time I saw Cotto fight, it was the Clottey fight. I thought Clottey won that one and even though the decision showed that Cotto won, it's only because Clottey gave it away. Watching it, I told my friend that if this was the Cotto that Manny would be fighting then I think Manny would win EASILY.



I'm hoping that this is the type of Cotto that Manny would be facing because it would be a sure win come Sunday. The old Cotto was good and I'll give Manny 50/50 chance to beat that guy. This Cotto however, I'm giving 65-35 in favor of Manny.



My prediction is Manny would win based on cuts. Look for that scar tissue in Cotto's left eyebrow to open up. That scar is just like where Pac hit De La Hoya practically a hundred times last year. If that opens up, Cotto's done. He should've been done when it happened against Clottey. Problem was Clottey forgot to fire again. Manny will not make that mistake.



Pac via TKO on cuts (9th)