pacquiao-vs-cotto-posterWhile I’ll be at the bar watching UFC 105, many of you will be shelling out 60 bucks or so to watch two little guys punch each other repeatedly in the ring. I’m okay with that. Since I’m primarily an MMA guy, I decided to ask one of my co-bloggers from The Rumble to give you guys a little preview of the biggest fight this weekend. So here are the words of Avi “Shoefly” Korine.

Manny Pacquiao is a little Filipino man with a funny mustache. He is also, by nearly unanimous consensus, considered the best boxer in the world. He will be fighting Miguel Cotto on Saturday in the most highly anticipated fight of year.

Cotto, from Puerto Rico, was an Olympic medalist and can’t miss prospect slated for greatness before he ever had a professional fight. Cotto won belts in both the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions, and tore through opponents in a series of brutal and exciting fights culminating in a rousing victory over welterweight great, Shane Mosley.

Cotto’s run was stopped in a brutal defeat to Antonio Margarito, a Mexican slugger who managed to pound Cotto into submission despite inferior boxing skills. Cotto was a bloody mess by fight’s end and some wondered if he would ever recover. That fear was only compounded when it was discovered in Margarito’s next fight that he was attempting to use plaster in illegal hand wrappings. Many feel Cotto was the victim of one of the great tragedies of modern ring history, but in the two fights since his only loss Cotto has looked strong in victory.

While Cotto attempts to regain the luster of his previous performances, Manny Pacquiao is trying to make history. A win over Cotto will give him a championship in his seventh division, an all-time record and stunning achievement for a man who won his first belt at flyweight, 112 pounds. While the weight jumping has been remarkable, it is the way Pacquiao has won his belts that has been so impressive. In a series of exciting fights he ripped through a trio of Mexican legends in the featherweight division: Barrera, Morales, and Marquez. As impressive as those wins were, no one expected his shocking and dramatically violent wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, victories which vaulted him into mainstream star status.

If Pacquiao is able to beat the larger Cotto in similar fashion he will cement his status among some of history’s greatest fighters. To do so he will have to overcome Cotto’s powerful jab and crushing left hook to the body. Cotto, a natural southpaw, fights out of the orthodox stance. He will need to use his jab to control distance against the much faster Pacquiao, and his trademark body punching to slow the smaller man’s onslaughts.

Pacquiao, a southpaw who fights that way, will need to use his superior footspeed to keep Cotto at distance and avoid at all costs getting caught on the ropes. Pacquiao’s combination punching and power are unmatched, and he will have to find a home with his powerful straight left hand and improved right hook to gain Cotto’s respect and keep the larger man at bay.

Both Pacquiao and Cotto are never in bad fights, and while they are great fighters, neither is a defensive genius, so expect big punches to land and potentially cuts and knockdowns as well. While Cotto is an excellent champion, and has a better chance than his -200 odds would indicate, Pacquiao is just a truly exceptional fighter, a once in a generation champion, and I expect him to score a stoppage in the late rounds. He is a rare and gifted athlete, the type we will be telling our grandchildren about.

Hovering above the proceedings is Floyd Mayweather, the likely opponent for the winner. If it is Pacquiao prepare for the biggest fight below the heavyweight limit since the days of Leonard, Duran, and Hagler.