I just thought that I would see what the UK side of the forum thinks of this fight and what the out come may be.

IMO I think there is one main governing factor here and that is if Pac can take Cotto's power. If he can then he will possibly KO Cotto late but more likely UD him due to his speed and better footwork. If he tastes Cotto's power and reacts badly then he fights in survival mode spending more time running than engaging as I don't think Pac would allow himself to be caught again. He probably will not do enough to win a UD or even SD fighting on the back foot and I don't think Cotto is agile enough to press home the advantage and KO him but as he is the fighter going forward he'll get the nod. I think the only way Pac loses by KO is if he is dropped by the first full Cotto power shot and doesn't recover.

Normally nearer the fight I have a definite favourite but I am still sitting on the fence on this one.

Can pacman really Ko Cotto? I never knew they were the same size, so I this may be more of a possibility than I originally thought.

Possibly, but Cotto was able to take everything Judah, Mosley, and Clottey had and came out a winner.

I still have a hard time believing Manny has alot of power at the high weights. Look at Diaz, it took Manny 9 rounds to get him out of there. Diaz does have a goo chin.

With Hatton, he got rocked twice by Juan Lazcano, who really isn't that big a puncher, so I wasn't too surprised Hatton couldn't take Manny's power, plus Hatton didn't show much a defense in that fight, he turned in the old Ricky Hatton.

I throw the De La Hoya fight out the window, the only thing we really learned from that fight is Oscar was shot and Manny can stick to a disciplined game plan.

Cotto has a jab and solid D, so I don't think he will be as easy to hit as Hatton, De La Hoya and Diaz.

I also still question whether Pac can take a good punch from a Welterweight. He hasn't really been hit with much since the Marquez rematch.

i think pac wins. cotto always had problem with high workrate. when fighters throw alot of punches against cotto, he doesn't throw too many back, instead he tries to defend and some always get through.

it's interesting fight though because we don't know how pac will react when cotto lands a hurtful punch, will he be able to take it and come back, or will he think " fvck".

I want Cotto to win but I cant see it im afraid. Pac's speed will be the deciding factor. He doe's not need to have the one punch power in this fight, he will land so often and at will that he'll force a late stoppage in my opinion. He is no longer just a fighter with a powerful straight right. He now has the short right hook, throws better combinations, and doesn't leave himself out of position that often when throwing the straight left down the pipe. Pac TKO11

I agree with everything you say and acknowledge that Manny's previous 3 wins were overly flattering and IMO JMM beat him twice. That said, Juda did rock Cotto to his socks and you have to attribute that to pure speed because I don't think Zab hits harder than SSM. Does Manny move as fast as Judah? I think so, therefore there is a possibility that Cotto maybe susceptible to speed rather than to the power punches he was able to absorb against SSM. I think the 'fight changer' will be if Manny (as you correctly point out) can take a punch thrown by a full blown, top flight welter.

I have always had more faith in cotto than in hatton, it should last longer than pacs fight with hatton, but i don't think cotto will last more than six rounds because his chin is average and pac hits hard and he comes on more and more as the rounds go by, if he hurts cotto he won't give him a break to recover.

Cotto is probably the hardest puncher pacs faced so you never know he could take pac out, but pac spars bigger guys, bigger than cotto so that could help him.

I initially favoured Pacquiao when the fight was announced and then after a while I started to favour the size, strength and Cotto's underrated defense to overcome Pacquiao. Cotto is a hell of alot more of a disciplined fighter and will stick to a gameplan and won't rush in gung ho like Hatton did.

Saying that i've got a feeling that Pacquiao's speed and movement will give Cotto fits and as long as he can keep away from Cotto's body attack I think he'll win by decision.

I have a feeling that it is Cottos patience that could give the win to Manny. I see him doing his thing, slowly walking forward, not finding the target, then dropping his hands, having a stretch, take a few steps backwards and then starting again. Meanwhile Pacman is buzzing all over the place firing out jabs and the occasional big attack building up the points.

That wasn't always the case though. Hatton's lifestyle has put paid to any durability he once possessed. I would have rated Hattons chin higher than Cottos 5 years ago. Anyone that could walk through Tsyzu's bombs all night could not be accused of having a weak chin. Cotto on the other hand has been rocked in most of his 140 fights and again by Judah at 147. I would suggest that if there is going to be any KO's by head punch in this weekends match up it will be Cotto laying on the canvas. Pac could be dropped but he has never shown any signs of chin weakness.

probably both

Cotto has faced guys that are as fast as Pac. Malignaggi and Judah for sure. While these guys certainly aren't Pac, it is important to note that Cotto was able to land on them regularly and put a severe beating on them. Speed hasn't caused Cotto problems. What has caused problems for him are guys bigger than he is, punching down on him so to speak, that can take his power. Maybe Mosely wasn't bigger, but he did take Cotto's power.

Cotto fighting hurt isn't unfamiliar either. Point being, he knows how to fight when buzzed. Something you just can't teach.

You look at guys that gave Pac trouble, what did they do? They forced him to fight moving backward, at least in spots. That's something Pac can't do. They punched with him and with accuracy, not necessarily equal speed. They hit him in the body.

Cotto is a better defensive fighter than Morales or JMM. He hits much harder. He goes to the body much better. He will punch with Manny. He'll also give Manny a lefty stance to deal with.

A lot tougher fight to pick than the Pac-Hatton fight, but I think Pac takes this one. Cotto has been wobbled by quite a few fighters and hurt and down. I think he will end up exchanging with Pac at some point and be shocked by the little fella's hand speed and accuracy, I think if Pac gets Cotto on wobbly legs he won't let him off the hook and he will go for the KO.


I'm going for Pac KO, don't know what round but I think the first few rounds will be feel out rounds so I am going to go for a Pac KO round 10.

i think its Pac's fight, speed and angles will give cotto fits. I think Cotto has weight problems. he's looked spent after 10 rounds in his last couple of fights and Pac is not only fast with both his hands and feet but can apply pressure while keeping on the move,by this I mean he can have a fighter scared to commit, he reminds me of Pryor in that respect. he can turn from boxer to puncher effortlessly and leaves you no room for mistakes. I see Pac catching Cotto in the last third and not letting him off the hook.

Hard to pick against Pac with the run he's on. But I really think Cotto wins this one, two much strength and a solid defense

I'mgoing with Pac on points (after a war)

I have this horrible feeling that the fight is stopped early due to cuts on Cotto.

It seemed like he recovered pretty quick after being hurt. I think he pretty much shook it off before the low blow.

Ah yes, Miguel's get out of jail card Hope Pacman's wearing some sort of iron jockstrap.

Think it's highlighted enough that if that happens when Pac's having the better of it, I think Roach would of said if he goes low just fuking keep going and blast the fuker out.


And if it gets to much then Cotto will lose points a lot sooner than a normal fighter would because it's already been highlighted.



Anyway, I truthfully think that Cotto's calm calculated style will rather work against him or work for him. Saturday night we will find out. Fuking top fight, I'm right up for this one.

i think pac will win a competitive fight.

probably pts.

think pac's speed and stamina will win the day.

tight-ish for 8 rds and then pac's stamina coming into play late on to pull away for the pts win.

agree with hopey. the speed and angles will make the difference. cotto didn't do that great against malignaggi. a guy who pops em in then off to the sides.

cotto is too good a fighter to not make it a tough night though.

weigh-in's happened both look to be in incredible shape and confident. can't wait. i've been pciking manny, but fvck me he's getting abit too confident for my liking. he's been doing tv work, now he's on about singing in his after party..

weigh in pics.

looking at pac makes u wonder if bruce lee was re-incarnated.

Nobody come close....HI...YAAAAAAAA

Tough fight for both, but Manny's speed should carry him through.Pac to win this late between rounds 9 and 11.

I've pretty much given up making a prediction on this fight. All I know is that I can't fuking wait.

Heres the weigh in vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSs55J9MafA

anyone got a stream link?

Other than Justin TV I don't know of any.

bloody undercard fights.

more interested in looking to see who's sitting ringside than this chavez fight.

What is it that they say about talent skipping a generation?

Jr is pants and I would love to see Rhodes have a crack at him.

wish they would hurry up and get this sh*t out the way I got home early from work to watch this fight and im falling asleep.

the wbc put him at no1.

shame on them.

40 tomato cans and cos of his name he gets a rating.

i'm sure undercards used to be so much better than this back in the day.

too many promoters in boxing nowadays.

in the 90's u had king and arum and the cards were always stacked.

thought they chucked the drunks out later these days.

i finished early, finished at 3 instead of 4, should have just stayed till 4 and not had to put myself thru the misery of watching the shite that is Chavez...
Thank f*ck its finished now....

F*cking national anthems now.....bloody hell....does anybody give a f*ck ?

SKY have this scheduled to finish at 5am and the main fight isn't even going to be into the second round by then. I feel sorry if anyone's SKY+'ing this, their going to be settling down to the fight after watching a load of bollocks undercards and then suddenly 'end of recording' will jump up.

did they have to show the hatton KO again.

watched the oscar fight again about a month back.

well impressive from pac.

i think he will win tonight.

Bad luck eh

Cotto gna knock him out.....

Its not looking impossible is it. Cotto wins rnd 1

Pac owns rnd 2

rnd 3 pac wins but seems to be struggling

he wins the round cos of the knock down but apart from that I thought Cotto did better, a lot of pacs shots are missing

cotto wining the4th until he was dropped again.

shit! Cotto saved by the bell there!

Yeah looked really shaky at the end of the round.

gave cotto the 5th just. he seemed to hurt pac near the end.

6th to pacman, hurts cotto badly but he stayed on his feet