Preview And Predictions – Manny Pacquiao Vs. Miguel Cotto

It’s the biggest fight of the year for fight fans. Rarely do you get such a big fight on a big scale that’s actually the fight that fight fans want to see. We saw a few months ago how a fight that is deemed big can leave a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. I don’t think that’s the case here.

Even though voters in the poll on our site would suggest differently, this should be a competitive fight. While Manny Pacquiao seems to be the heavy favorite, Miguel Cotto is a helluva boxer and should give him hell.

We have a great panel of boxing writers and bloggers who have given me their predictions to publish in our preview.

Here is the panel:

Bill Dwyre – Bill is a columnist for the LA Times and he’s written a great column about why this fight is worth the money. You can read him at the LA Times.
Kevin Iole – Kevin writes for Yahoo! Sports and is one of the few writers who writes equally as well about boxing as he does about MMA. Read him by clicking his Yahoo! Sports page. Follow him on Twitter @KevinI.
Tim Kawakami – Tim is a columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and writes the popular Talking Points blog. You can follow him on Twitter @timkawakami.
Kaelan Hollon – Kaelan is a female boxer whose words hit just as hard as her fists. Read her A Girl’s Guide To Violence blog and follow her on Twitter @hillbillyboxer.
Jake Emen – Jake is a self described boxing fanatic who is the editor of Pro Boxing Fans.
Jereme Warneck – Jereme writes a blog at number1contender.net, which focuses on wrestling, boxing, MMA, and video games and is also a correspondent for F4WOnline/Wrestling Observer.
Brian McNeeley – Brian is a die-hard boxing fan who I met through Twitter and I simply love his opinions about the fight game. Follow him @BMcNeeley.
Duan Greally – Duan is a writer for Fight Game Blog.
GG – That would be me, editor of Fight Game Blog.

Bill Dwyre – Pacquiao by 9th round TKO

I see Pacquiao winning when Cotto doesn’t come out for the tenth round. I see a great fight, but Pacquiao’s superior speed, Freddie Roach’s superior corner strategy and the ghosts of Antonio Margarito keeping a very skilled Miguel Cotto from quite having enough physically or mentally for Pacquiao.

Kevin Iole – Pacquiao by decision

I believe Manny’s speed and boxing are too much for Cotto, who has slowed since loss to Margarito. Good fight, but speed kills.

Tim Kawakami – Pacquiao by 7th round KO

Cotto’s bigger and stronger than Hatton and quite a bit more active (anyone would be) than De La Hoya… but I still think Pacquaio finds a way to go through Cotto. Cotto has always been there to be hit, and Pacquaio will hit you and hit you and hit you.

Kaelan Hollon – Pacquiao by decision
She wrote her own special preview for our site, which you can read here.

Jake Emen – Pacquiao by decision

I think there are four questions in this bout: how the catchweight affects Cotto; how Cotto takes Manny’s punches; how Manny takes Cotto’s punches and whether or not Cotto can catch up to Manny. Unfortunately for Cotto, I see most of those being answered in Pacquiao’s favor. However, this is no blowout, I expect a tough fight that sees both men bloodied and bruised a bit. Pacquiao wins a clear-cut decision that’s harder fought than most think.

Jereme Warneck – Cotto by decision

Manny Pacquiao has spent the last 17 months making a mockery of the concept of weight classes. That should end on Saturday. The reason Pacquiao has been able to maintain his exceptional power as he moves up in weight classes is that he has an incredibly large fist. That is the key stat to look at when determining if a competitor has natural punching power. This theory has been proven via “Brock Smash”. This has meant Pacquiao has been the stronger boxer in the ring even as he continues to move up in weight.

Miguel Cotto should be the first opponent Pacquiao has faced that can match the Filipino’s power at a higher weight class. Cotto will attempt to use his size and strength to apply pressure in the same way Ricky Hatton intended to do against Pacquiao in May. The difference is that Cotto should be able to effectively employ that strategy. That will result in Cotto taking a likely bloody match via 12-round unanimous decision.

Brian McNeeley – Pacquiao by 10th round TKO

Cotto keeps his hands to wide apart and is open to both uppercuts and straight shots which Pac should be able to take advantage of. If Cotto can cut the ring off and attack the body using his left hook, I can see Cotto putting Pac on the canvas.

Pacquiao can not fight moving backwards and at times misjudges distance which leaves him open for counter shots. Pac’s combination of speed and relentlessness coupled with punches coming at different angles could be too much for Cotto. I believe Cotto makes himself to easy to hit. Pac will expose him. Pac Man by stoppage in the 10th.

Duan Greally – Cotto by KO (between 8th and 10th rounds)

Six months ago, I said that Miguel Cotto would not only beat Pacquiao, but that he would stop him. There has been a few bumps in the road since then, but I still stand by that initial prediction a hundred percent.

People are too quick to forget that Cotto is a superb fighter. We are talking about an absolute warrior here. This is a guy who has been in there with the sport’s elite fighters. He has only one loss on his record, and it’s a loss that he probably shouldn’t have had to take.

Cotto is a notoriously slow starter, and I think Pacquiao will be at his most dangerous early. Once Miguel makes it out of those early couple of rounds, I see him taking over. He is mentally tough, and he will eventually get to Pacquiao. He will be physically stronger, and he will wear Manny out.

GG – Pacquiao by 10th round TKO

What you can say about Manny Pacquiao that hasn’t already been said? He’s been put in big fights and come up big. But this is probably going to be his toughest opponent since Juan Manuel Marquez. Cotto is so determined to break Pacquiao that he almost convinced me that he’ll do it. But I think Cotto gets tired after giving Manny everything for 9 or 10 rounds. I think we could either the fight end because of a bad cut, or simply because Cotto is too worn out to continue.

It’s 6-2 in Manny’s favor according to the panel.

Thanks to everyone on our panel for their prediction and we’ll be back here tomorrow covering the big fight.

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