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.