Boxing Updates: Latest Boxing Event

On Thursday, September 10, Bob Arum, Lee Samuels, and the rest of the promotional team invited the media and the public to the new Yankee Stadium to launch the five city tour to hype one of the best matchups in a while, “FIREPOWER”, WBO World Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto, 34-1 (27 KOs), of Puerto Rico facing the pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao, 49-3-2 (37 KOs), from the Philippines in a twelve round title fight on November 14, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will be broadcast, live, on HBO Pay-Per-View.

Both Cotto and Pacman were presented with Yankee Pinstripe shirts. Also at stake will be the WBC Diamond Belt to be presented to the winner who will own the jewel encrusted belt outright. On hand to show off the impressive hardware was Mauricio Sulaiman, the Executive Secretary of the WBC.

“The WBC realizing how momentous and important this fight is,” announced Arum. “Has commissioned what we call a diamond belt to be given to the winner of this fight to keep forever.”

Arum took the helm and after explaining all the details of the event brought out the fighters, including New York’s, by way of Belarus, Junior-Middleweight challenger, undefeated Yuri Foreman, 27-0-0-1N/C (8 KOs), who fights veteran title holder Daniel Santos, 32-3-1 (23 KOs), for his WBA belt on the undercard.

Arum proclaimed the Cotto-Pacquiao a sure bet for fight of the year.

“We’re here in Yankee Stadium,” said the ever fired up Arum, “to kick off the first press conference for what will certainly be the fight of the year, and maybe the fight of the decade.” But the most anticipated fight of the decade would be the mega fight of Pacquiao vs Mayweather.

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Manny Pacquiao being on top of the boxing world today, is in the position to chose who is going to be his opponent and impose his conditions upon them. But a lot of skeptics would ask if he really deserves to be in the driver’s seat.

Among Pacquiao’s list of contenders, Miguel Cotto is the leading candidate. Manny Pacquiao demands that Miguel Cotto should come in at a catch weight between 144lbs to 145lbs and that he gets the 65% of the purse split. Would that be a reasonable offer in Cotto’s part?

If we take a look at the credentials of both fighters, we could say that Miguel Cotto has a more stellar career compared to Pacquiao’s. Miguel Cotto had beaten Zab Judah and Shane Mosley in 2007, Alfonso Gomez and just recently Joshua Clottey. Manny Pacquiao on the other hand, skeptics would say, that he had beaten a weight drained Oscar De La Hoya and just recently a soft-chinned Ricky Hatton. And even before those fights, Manny had a hard time against the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.

Many people would say, that Cotto has better credentials than Pacquiao. But every fight of Pacquiao is full of excitement and drama. In his previous fights, he was always considered the underdog. Critics had predicted that he would lose against Barrera, Morales, Marquez (which was really a controversial split decision), De La Hoya and Hatton, but he was still able to pull through. He gives the fans exactly what they come to see in each of his fights.

If we would look at Pacquiao’s credentials without making any biased excuses that may underrate his performance, then we would be able to see what he really had accomplished in his career.

Pacquiao deserves to be in the driver’s seat because everyone is calling out for him. They want to fight him because of the massive earnings that he attracts. It is safe to say that the sport of boxing is not always about the credentials, but it is also about the pay day. If a fighter fights Pacquiao, a 65/35 or a 60/40 purse split is worth more than a 50/50 purse split with somebody that nobody really knows.

But if Pacquiao really wants to silence his critics and prove himself to them, then this fight should have to happen at 147lbs. If he fights Cotto at a catch weight, he would not be fighting the real Cotto and prove nothing. A fight at 147lbs with Cotto would cement his place as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

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The potential match between Cotto and Manny is not far from happening. Manny’s promoter Bob Arum has informed the media on Wednesday that he had met with Cotto’s management representatives just recently, and is looking forward to get things ironed out. He is hoping to have the two fighters be paired on November 28 for a fight.

However, there would only be a few setbacks that might get in the way of arranging the fight. Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao wants the bout to take place at a catch weight. Cotto would also have to bring back his former self, because he does not seem to be the same fighter that he was, before his loss against Antonio Margarito. Besides that, Cotto is still nursing a bad cut over his left eye. Cotto’s cut would have to heal before the fight, and it would probably take a miracle for it to hold up in training camp for a bout against Manny Pacquiao in just five months.

Cotto will be in great trouble if his cut reopens in a fight against Pacquiao. He might as well surrender, because the blood might cover fifty percent of his vision. If Cotto will not give up, he might only take a beating from the quicker Filipino fighter. This will probably be Pacquiao’s greatest advantage against Cotto.

Right now, the weight could be the biggest issue. But the hero of the Philippines has not been intimidated by size lately, since he fought Oscar de la Hoya at 147 and Ricky Hatton at 140. He simply used his superior speed and punching ability to overcome any size advantages those two might have had. Roach believes that Pacquiao is unbeatable at 140 lb, and dragging the bigger boxers down should be to the advantage of the Filipino pound-for-pound champion.

Some critics are saying that Pacquiao’s sudden interest in Cotto is due to the fact that Manny can get a good payday fighting Cotto without the high risk of being beaten as he would against Mosley or Mayweather. They are saying that Pacquiao vs Cotto, because he is fresh from a fight and is still nursing some battle scars that he had acquired from Clottey and even from Margarito.

For sure this fight will still be a memorable one if it will come to reality. But for now, we will just have to wait for the decision of both camps.

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