Pacquiao is Officially the Best

After this past Saturdays beating of Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao can truly be the #1 pound for pound champion. I was very critical of Pacquiao because his recent victories were highly over-rated but beating Cotto proves his greatness.

Cotto started the fight in very good form, very aggressive and landing big shots. Pacquiao took the strong shots and fired back good angled shots to knock Cotto down in the 3rd and 4th round. The first knockdown was not very strong but it caught Cotto entirely off guard. The second one was a good power shot. Cotto's corner gave no advice in between rounds and he changed his style to boxing from brawler. He started backing up and throwing occasional shots, falling right into Pacquiao's hands. Pacquiao kept the pressure up while taking breaks for upwards of ninety seconds at a time. All this helped cement Pacquiao as the top fighter in the world.

Cotto might be finished. In the same arena as his loss to Antonio Margarito, he started to fade in the late rounds just the same. Many critics, including Freddie Roach, said that Cotto is a different fighter after his loss to Margarito, I guess they were right. Cotto will definitely take a break and says he still wants to fight. Maybe he can come back and still fight, we just have to wait and see.

Pacquiao had a great victory and in my opinion his best victory ever. With that said, who will he fight next? Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the one everybody wants, everybody except for Golden Promotions. They want the winner of Mosely-Berto (which will be Shane Mosely) to fight him. Golden Boy doesn't have a chance unless Mayweather and Pacquiao can't hammer out a contract. For the sake of argument we'll discuss possibilities of both fighters as opponents.

Shane Mosely would be a good fight for Pacquiao because he has more speed than Cotto. He is a tough vet who is very cagey 38 year old. How much longer can he do it is the real question. Speed is the first thing to go with old age so he might be on the downward side of his career. However if he is still as good as he is now then he put up a great fight. He is not as quick as Mayweather but he has power that Mayweather doesn't. He actually could knock out Pacquiao. IN all realism this fight probably won't happen because it is not what the public wants.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the fastest fighter before he retired and during his comeback fight he didn't get a chance to showcase his speed. Does he have the speed he had before his retirement? Only he knows. He was definitely the slickest, smoothest, quickest fighter out there. HE could be slick enough to dodge all of Pacquiao's great angles. HE would not get a knock out and it would not be a busy fight but Mayweather would probably win. He was able to beat quick fighters like Diego Corrales and Zab Judah so he has a real good chance of beating Pacuqiao. Whoever Pacquiao fights it will be a huge draw. Maybe he really is the king of Boxing.

Also on the under-card Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr. fought a horrible fight. His opponent Troy Rowland was handpicked to get knocked out and it didn't happen. The fight went all 10 rounds and respect has to be given to Rowland. He put up a great fight. Chavez Jr. on the other hand, looked horrible. He proved that his only skill is his father. He has no fighting skills and should not be the draw that he is. HE lives through his father. If you ever watch a commercial for Chavez Jr. the camera always shows video of Chavez Sr. He has 41 victories and zero defeats but he has fought nobody of any real skill. With that said, good job Troy Rowland.

Pacquiao Vs. Cotto, It's On!

November 14th has possibly the most anticipated fight of the year. The real question is who is going to show up. Manny Pacquiao is regarded by many as the pound for pound world champion and with his recent victories, why not. He stopped a good David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ricky Hatton, and don't forget Juan Manuel Marquez. But don't be fooled those fights weren't as tough as it sounds. Cotto has had two fights since his lost to Antonio Margarito and hasn't looked like he did before that loss. This will should be a good fight that could go either way.

Pacquiao is on top of the world right now but look at his recent opponents and make up your own mind. He beat Juan Manuel Marquez in their second fight, which was very tough and close, but after that its been cake for Manny. He embarrassed David Diaz and exposed his lack of speed. Oscar De La Hoya tried to make weight and looked emaciated and was easily defeated. Ricky Hatton fought in his typical bully style and was disgraced in the ring. Manny Pacquiao's last good fight was March 15th, 2008, almost two years ago. He has yet to be really challenged and he might not be in this fight either.

Cotto was the toughest welterweight two years ago. Then he fought Antonio Margarito, who may have cheated, and got demolished. He took bombs from Margarito and finally took a knee in the 11th round. Before this however he was feared by all in the division. Many people, including myself, felt Floyd Mayweather passed up a good fight by retiring and not fighting Cotto. Two years later, Cotto beat a nobody and barely squeaked by against Joshua Clottey not looking as tough as he used to me. Many people attribute this to his feud with his trainer and uncle. His uncle smashed his car with a brick and Cotto broke his uncles jaw. None the less, Cotto looked shaky in his last fight. He was going backwards the whole fight and never got set. He can't do that if he wants to beat Pacquiao.

It may sound like a cop out but this fight will be decided in the first round. If Cotto comes out like he used to, tough and powerful, he will beat Pacquiao easily. If he backs up the whole fight, he will struggle. I don't believe that Pacquiao will knock out Cotto, he lacks the power. He may, however, dominate the fight with ease. The winner of this fight will be the one who establishes their style in the first round. It should be entertaining regardless.

The results of this fight does have many possibilities for the future of the division. Regardless of the result of the fight, Mayweather will probably fight Pacquiao. Andre Berto will fight, and lose to, Shane Mosely in January. Mosely lost in a close fight to Cotto in November, 2007. Timothy Bradley will fight Lamont Peterson in December and might jump up to welterweight. The future of this division should be interesting however it plays out and I am going to watch it.

Mayweather is The Man

Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement 2 lbs overweight for his fight and it was very obvious. This is an easy argument to make but it is not the only reason for his victory. He was faster and stronger than the very talented Marquez. The only difference the weight made was the power of Marquez's punches. Marquez's shots were few and far between but don't let his punch output fool you. He stuck with the fight all twelve rounds. Regardless, Mayweather showed he should still be in boxing but the real question is will he fight a true welterweight?

Many people feel Mayweather ducked Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams and other Welterweights before he retired. HE fought Oscar De La Hoya who had to drop some pounds and Ricky Hatton who had to gain some. Marquez had never fought at 145 lbs. and admitted to being out of his league at that weight class. "If I had 4 or 5 fights at this weight, it would have been a different story." This is very true.

Mayweather was bombarded by Shane Mosely and Bernard Hopkins after the fight in the ring. I don't believe in conspiracies but this was one. The public wants Manny Pacqiao but Bob Arum doesn't. Golden Boy wants the big payday instead, hence the bombardment. He will probably fight Manny Pacquiao and that would be a bad fight for Pacquiao.

More will develop a little bit later.

As for Marquez, he fought as well as he could and should fight Michael Katsidis at 135 lbs. I predict Marquez to drop back down in weight and dominate the lighter weight classes. Maybe a rematch with Chris John at a catch weight. The future is still good for Marquez despite the loss.

Many people claim it was a boring fight, if you watch it closely you see a skilled fighter work for 12 rounds. It was a good performance from two great fighters.

Fight of the Year: Mayweather-Marquez

Courtesy of www.handlebar.com/ph

Right now the world knows Mayweather for his outside of ring legal issues and Marquez for his urine drinking but don't let that fool you. These are two of the top fighters in the world inside the ring and that is all that matters. September 19, will define what is going to happen to the loaded welterweight division. Before I get into the impact of this fight, the fighters must be talked about.

Mayweather was regarded as the top fighter in the world before he retired in December 2007. He had an undefeated record and had just beaten Oscar De La Hoya ad Knocked out Ricky Hatton. He said he wanted to retire to stay healthy and leave on top, yet there was unfinished business. Miguel Cotto was undefeated at the time, Shane Mosely and Antonio Margarito were dominating the division, and Paul Williams was jumping around in weight classes just to get a fight. Was Mayweather ducking fighters? It didn't matter because he retired. Now he chose the lone fighter to call him out of retirement as his opponent and this choice was a bad one for him. Mayweather is having a tune up fight for Manny Pacquiao and for some reason chose Juan Manuel Marquez. It is probably because Marquez is jumping up in weight to fight him.

Mayweather's fighting style is not exciting, he dances and runs until he wins by decision. He did knock out Ricky Hatton but time has shown that is not hard to do. When Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya he never stood up to him and skated to a boring victory. He has to do this again to win by decision and I hope he doesn't because it is boring. If Mayweather really wants to beat Marquez he needs only do one thing, jump on him early and dominate. This is not his style but unless he runs the whole fight, which he might very well do, he can not stand toe-toe with Marquez. If he does he will loose and stop the mega fight fair weather boxing fans want to see.

Marquez is coming off of two knock out victories over top contenders, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz. He was looking for another fight with Manny Pacquiao but Pacquiao doesn't want it, so he settled for Mayweather. Marquez is regarded by many as the number 2 top fighter behind Pacquiao but in this bloggers book he's number 1. HE is the smartest man in boxing today and his smarts will be his only chance for victory.

Marquez in every fight takes three rounds to feel out his opponents and he often gets pretty beat up in those three rounds. Then he turns on a switch and dominates. He watches his opponents style and exploits weaknesses. This is why he is such a good fighter. He might have to chase Mayweather around to get a fight leaving himself exposed but he has to try not to.

My prediction is Marquez Split Decision.

What is this going to do for the division? Shane Mosely is still looking for an opponent, Paul Williams is fighting at 160 lbs. and Andre Berto doesn't have any fights scheduled yet. The loser of this might fight the loser of Cotto-Pacquiao but the big story is the winner. If Marquez wins his fight and Pacquiao wins his, I believe he will, then will Pacquaio fight him. If the average boxing fan wants Mayweather-Pacquiao then they might get it. I should hope not. Where will Mayweather go if he loses? Will Marquez go back to dominating 130 lbs if he looses? This is very pivotal fight for a strong division and I will be one the viewers of this fight.

Donaire Wins Despite Weight Difference

On Aug. 14, the day before the fight, Nonito Donaire weighed in at the 115 lb. limit. Rafael Concepcion weighed in at 119.5 lbs, thus losing his chance at the title. Donaire, who could have called off the fight, decided to fight anyways. Donaire won Aug. 15 but the weight did play a big part.

At the start of the fight Donaire came out quick a powerful, bullying around Concepcion. With about thirty seconds left in the round, Concepcion fired a right-straight and severely stunned Donaire. This set the tone for the rest of the fight.

In the following rounds, as well as the rest of fight, Donaire danced around and threw punches and connected often. Concepcion would trap Donaire in the corner and fire off power flurries. Donaire controlled the pace of the fight and won a unanimous decision.

It is very hard to judge how well Nonito Donaire fought due to the weight difference. He did what it took to win but didn't look dominant. He got into a bad habit of dropping his hands very low in the later rounds of the fight. If Concepcion was quicker, he could have tagged Donaire. Overall it was a tough fight Donaire but he earned his victory. The future for Donaire still remains to be seen.

Donaire had been fighting in the Flyweight division and had a solid record at that weight class. He said he would like to jump up to the Super Flyweight class and he made a name with his victory. He said he would like to fight Fernando Montiel or Jorge Arce but the boxing would like to see him rematch Vic Darchinyan. Arce is going to fight Simphiwe Nonggayi on Sept. 15. Montiel and Darchinyan have yet to schedule their next fights. The only shame about these fights is that the average boxing fan doesn't know or watch these fights. They are indeed missing good fights.

How Flashy Will The Flash Be?

Courtesy of Flikr

On August 15th the Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire, will be stepping into the ring to fight Rafael Concepcion. There is a little bias here, Donaire is one of my favorite fighters to watch and he lives in the Bay Area. Many people, unfortunately, think of Manny Pacquiao as the only Filipino contender. They need to be educated and there is no better way then to watch Donaire. Donaire should win this fight with ease but the real story begins after this fight.

Donaire's only loss came in his 2nd professional fight against Rosendo Sanchez. Who? Exactly. He has been tough under 120 lbs. His biggest victory came over Vic Darchinyan, who prior to losing to Joseph Agbeko July 7th, was the recognized as the best fighter under 120 lbs. July 7th, 2007 Donaire knocked out Darchinyan with a left hook. Darchinyan got up after the 10 count and immediately claimed he was not hurt. This still blemished Darchinyan's, then, perfect record.

Donaire and promoter Gary Shaw had a huge falling out and Shaw swore never for them to have a re-match. Both fighters always wanted the fight. Darchinyan was set to Shaw after his Agbeko fight and this should set up a re-match.

This would be a very exciting fight to say the least. I have stated several times over the years that the lightweights get forgotten, and it's true. With these two fighters, the lighter weight classes have the potential to draw fans to the weight class. And let's not forget the man who beat Darchinyan for his titles, Joseph Agbeko. These fighters have a good opportunities ahead of them.

168 lb. Tournament

Showtime announced that they are planning to have a tournament of the top fighters throughout the world in the 168 lb. weight class. It is not the standard tournament, for full rules espn.com has a good breakdown. They are hoping it will boost ratings and it will.

Some of the fighters to be included are WBC champion Carl Froch, WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward, my hometown favorite, and even Arthur Abraham, who for vacated his 160 lb. title. This has the potential to be a great series.

Boxing as a whole is constantly fighting to decide a true champion of the world and this tournament could do it.

My overall prediction is that Mikkel Kessler will win the tournament. He is an extremely strong fighter however he is very upright. His sole loss was to Joe Calzaghe who gave him many different angles and looks. If he faces Andre Direll or Andre Ward they might give him similar looks and win. Arthur Abraham is also undefeated and good but Kessler is better. As for Froch, he is good but not the best in the tournament, he had an impressive win over Jermain Taylor but that was one fight. I don't think he, or anybody else for that matter, could take the power of Kessler.

There is one sure winner and that's the fans.

A Good Night for Lightweights but Don't Forget Abraham

On June 27th Juan Manuel Lopez and Jorge Arce won their respective fights. Juan Manuel Lopez had another strong victory adding to his undefeated record and Jorge Arce had a strong comeback win. Lopez is cementing himself among the top of the super bantamweight division and Arce climbing the ranks of super flyweight after his loss to Vic Darchinyan. These two fighters are some of the strongest among the ligt divisons.

Also that night, Arthur Abraham fought very well getting a TKO in the 10th round. Abraham has been consistently defeating all of his opponents having an undefeated record of 30-0. A fight should be scheduled soon to have Abraham against Kelly Pavlik to unify the middleweight division. That would be a very good fight and I will give a full breakdown and prediction of the fight when it happens.

Back to the lightweights, Lopez looks ready to take on anyone including Rafael Marquez. Marquez had a good victory over Jose Francisco Mendoza in May and should get set up for a major fight with Lopez. Marquez was had lost his previous two fights in a battle of a trilogy with Israel Vazquez, and he looked great against Mendoza. He won by TKO in the 3rd round. If these two fighters square off it would make for an amazing fight.

Arce looked very solid in his fight and looks as sharp as ever. He's ready for anyone except Vic Darchinyan or Nonito Donaire. He has several possibilities of who he could fight. I would like to see him fight Daisuke Naito from Japan. Naito has a very aggressive fighting style that would clash very well with Arce's style. However, Naito has never fought outside of Japan so I would like to see it but I doubt it would happen.

Sometimes the lightweights under 130 lbs. get forgotten about but with good fighters like Lopez and Arce the divisions are very entertaining. My favorite fighter is Nonito Donaire who is set to fight against Rafael Concepcion in August. Donaire is another very entertaining fighter who gave Darchinyan his only loss in 2007. Keep your eyes on these divisions if you like great fighters.