IS PACQUIAO FEARFUL OF COTTO?
One has to wonder, what did Pacquiao see in Cotto’s last fight to make him not want to go up to 154 lbs or even compromise and meet him at a catchweight of 150 lbs. This is the second time that Pacquiao has requested Miguel Cotto to come down from his normal fighting weight in order to make a fight with him.
We were all led to believe that Pacquiao’s first choice of opponents outside of Floyd Mayweather was Miguel Cotto. For weeks he was deemed the front runner in the Pacquiao sweepstakes. Even Pacquaio’s wife Jinkee had leaked the news that the WBA Junior Middleweight Champion would be his next opponent. It appeared as though team Pacquiao really wanted this fight, and it was somewhat surprising to hear that the two camps could not come to an agreement because Pacquiao insisted that Cotto come down to 147, a weight that he hasn’t fought at in over two years.
What is it about Cotto or his fighting style that makes Pacquiao feel that he needs some type of edge in order to fight him? It gives the impression that he is concerned about something or else, why wouldn’t he just fight him at his normal weight like Floyd Mayweather is doing?
Ever since his first fight with Antonio Margarito, in which he suffered a brutal loss, most people claimed that Cotto just wasn’t the same anymore. They believed that he lost something in that fight that he may never be able to get back. He was only twenty eight years old at the time but because of the beating that he suffered at the hands of Margarito, he was already being considered shopworn.
He was able to win the WBO Welterweight Tile shortly after the loss, which he eventually lost to Manny Pacquiao in a catchweight bout at 145 lbs. Once again people were saying he was done. In his very next fight he moved up to the junior middleweight division and defeated Yuri Foreman to win the WBA Junior Middleweight Title, and since then he has defended his title twice, while avenging his first defeat in a one sided victory over Antonio Margarito.
It looks as though he has been able to revive his career and put himself back in position for the big money fights, but he still has his doubters. A lot of people predicted that if he fought Pacquiao again the result would be the same, but one compelling thing that could have made the fight intriguing is: would it be a different fight at 154 lbs? That’s what could have made the rematch somewhat interesting, so why did Pacquiao remove that from the equation by insisting that the fight be at welterweight? It almost reinforces the believe of some people who felt that Pacquiao tried to weight drain Cotto in the first fight and now is trying to do it again. The whole thing is very reminiscent of when Pacquaio fought Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight back in 2008 when Oscar came down from junior middleweight to welterweight. It was apparent that the weight loss affected him.
Cotto has decided to not put himself in that same situation and made a stand by choosing to fight Floyd Mayweather instead, at his normal weight of 154 lbs. Pacquiao fought Antonio Margarito at a 150 lb catchweight so it’s somewhat baffling that he couldn’t come to a compromise with Cotto.
Mayweather has developed a reputation in the past as someone who is very hard to negotiate with, but at the end of the day, he is the one that was able to give Cotto the best deal while Pacquiao was not. Floyd has always been labeled as someone who has to have things his own way, but after looking at this situation, one has to wonder, who is really the control freak here Pacquiao or Mayweather?
Joe Habeeb
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 3, 2012 at 11:47pm -
JOE how can you say pacquiao is fearful of cotto when he knock down the guy 2 times,round 3 and 4...battered him til the ref stopped it on round 12...after that he fought clottey at 147 lbs,where pac weighted 145lbs at the weigh in...then fought margarito at 150lbs where pac weigh 144.6..you see where im coming,pacquiao cant even make 147lbs..and after the margarito fight pacquiao and his team said no more fights above 147lbs,..so what's wrong with that, isn't it commendable that pacquiao acknowledges his limit...i just don't get it how anyone can say pac is fearful of cotto when there first fight wasnt even competitive.
-
Comment by Rope A Dope Radio on February 4, 2012 at 3:02pm -
Well let's not forget that Margaritio battered Cotto before too and we saw what happened in the rematch. I thought he actually beat Marg worse than Pac did. There has to be a reason why Pacquaiao would fight Margarito at 150 lbs but not Cotto. Just sayin.
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 4, 2012 at 7:54pm
-
i saw the rematch between cotto and margarito and cotto didnt impress me on that fight,margarito was starting to do well when the ref stopped the fight..remember the 1st fight cotto was winning every round from round 1 to 8 then at the later rounds margarito took cottos punches,keep coming forward and breakdown cotto..worse than pac did??margarito suffered a fractured orbital bone against pac,cotto just bruise margarito and you can see that margarito also landed some punches on cottos face and its visible after the fight..even margarito make a joke,i dont know if his serious but he said cotto hits like a girl...il say it again pac didnt accept the 150lbs with cotto cause after the margarito fight pac and his team decided to not do it again,they said pac is staying at 147lbs and no more fights above that weight...its very much documented..
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 4, 2012 at 8:17pm
-
fear have nothing to do with that....if the first fight was somehow competitive then i can somehow understand your argument but cotto was outclass by pac and its a one sided fight so how can pac be scared of someone he already battered?
-
Comment by Rope A Dope Radio on February 4, 2012 at 8:35pm
-
Then why won't he fight him at 154 or even 150 like he fought Margaritio Why does it have to be at 147? Floyd has no problem with the weight, why does Pacquiao? You never answered the question.
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 4, 2012 at 9:47pm
-
i already answered your question,pacquiao and his team after the margarito fight said they wont do a fight again above 147lbs,that the fight at 150lbs against margarito was the last one...just like i said pacquiao cant even make 147lbs in all his welterweight fights,so maybe he realizes his limitation about the weight,that its hard for him to fight above 147lbs...so whats wrong with that??isnt it just being true to himself??...i find it hard to understand you guys implying pac is fearful of cotto,what did cotto did to pacquiao in the first fight that in any way pac might be fearful of him??...read my first comment,if you dont get that then your bias...floyd is bigger than pcquiao,floyd started at lightweight as pro..pac started at 105lbs-112lbs as a pro,so who do you think have a higher possibility to make 150lbs to 154lbs between the two?
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 4, 2012 at 10:00pm
-
its like saying pacquiao is fearful of floyd...first of all they are fighters,this is what they do...so being fearful of someone is unlikely to be there character..if pacquiao was fearful or scared of floyd why move up in the same weight class as floyd?if he knew that eventually people are gonna ask for there fight..pacquiao can easily stay at 135lbs or 140lbs and stay away from floyd but he didnt..i know pacquiao can easily make those weight but he move up to 147lbs and cant even make 147lbs in every welter fights he had...
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 4, 2012 at 10:03pm
-
im a huge pacquiao fan but that doesnt stop me from saying that pacquiao looses to floyd if they fought each other....thats me being objective and not being bias...like someone said,we might hate floyds character but we cant deny his skills inside the ropes....
-
Comment by Rope A Dope Radio on February 4, 2012 at 11:20pm
-
It's disrespectful and unfair to Cotto in my opinion to ask him to go down to 147 after he hasn't fought there for 2 and half years. Pac won every round against Margarito so what about that fight made him not want to go above 147? I have never seen a fighter ask for so many catch weight bouts. Whether or not he is afraid there must be something about Cotto that he is concerned with if he has to fight him at 147 and no more. It just tells you that he is trying to weight drain him to get an advantage. It can't be any clearer. I'm just surprised that you can't see that.
-
Comment by melvin sanchez on February 5, 2012 at 1:44am
-
your not giving what i said about what pacquiao and his team said after the fight...look it up...you keep telling yourself that pacquiao somehow saw something at cotto and his hesitant to fight cotto for a second time..your just assuming by saying so...it couldnt be clearer what pacquiaos team said after the margarito fight...no more fights above 147lbs (look it up)..,it doesnt mean his fearful of someone if he dont accept a fight above 147lbs but to your eyes his fearful already and you go straight with the catchweight stuff..if pacquiao is more comfortable fighting at 147lbs then we should respect that...if cotto dont want to fight pacquiao at 147lbs then respect...
© 2012 Created by Rope A Dope Radio.
b33ff2db-84eb-486e-80b67ce651de10a7
You need to be a member of Rope A Dope Radio to add comments!
Join Rope A Dope Radio