Speak out: Pacquiao by 7th-round knockout

Edmund Navarro

IT IS no brainer that the hardest fights of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao have been those with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao fought Marquez to a draw in the first fight and a split decision win in the second to claim the World Boxing Council super featherweight championship.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

Since those fights with Marquez, Pacquiao has been moving up in weight, scoring three sensational knockout victories over David Diaz at 135 pounds, Oscar De la Hoya at 147, and Ricky Hatton at 140.

As Pacquiao guns for an unprecedented seventh world title in seven weight divisions, the stakes are higher for the Pinoy boxing hero as he will be slugging it out with the much younger, bigger and stronger fighter in Miguel Cotto for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown.

Boxing pundits believe with all the above-mentioned attributes that Cotto has--not to mention that Puerto Rican champ is at his prime--this fight is by far Pacquiao’s toughest.

Curiously, the same was said when Manny fought dela Hoya and Hatton. People had thought the fight would be Manny’s toughest.

But Pacquiao made each of those fights look so easy. The results were lopsided. Will the result be the same against Cotto this Sunday?

While others may find Cotto a tough nut to crack, I am convinced the result will still be the same come Sunday. Here’s why:

First, I have full confidence in the trainer’s and fighter’s points of view, in this case Freddie Roach and Pacquiao, respectively. Both of them are very confident of victory.

For me, Roach knows best. He will not pick a fight Pacquiao will not have any chance of winning at all. I am very optimistic of victory when I see Pacquiao exuding so much confidence.

Your Ad Here

Second, I believe Pacquiao’s hand speed and footwork will be too much for Cotto. While it’s true that Cotto will be the bigger fighter, such can be negated by Pacquiao’s advantage in speed.

I expect Pacquiao to dart in to throw his vicious one-two combinations and dart out to elude Cotto’s counters, especially to the body. Pacquiao will also use his quick footwork to circle Cotto, pick his punches and stay away from danger zone. His advantages in footwork and hand speed makes him a very elusive target.

Third, I expect Manny to be always first: first to hit a solid punch and first to connect combinations. When these happen, Cotto will get hurt and the stigma of the Antonio Margarito knockout loss will start to creep in and consume Cotto the rest of the way.

Last, I maintain that Pacquiao’s fighting stance remains a difficult puzzle to solve. More than his overall ring skills, his hand speed and quick footwork, it is Manny’s awkward fighting stance that throws off his opponent.

Pacquiao by seventh-round knockout.


Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 12, 2009.