WHY COTTO CHOOSES TROUT OVER PACQUIAO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 06 Sep 2012
Manny Pacquiao has three choices for his next opponent ? Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez or Timothy Bradley ? all of them had previously faced him. But on top of the list would have been Cotto. In the end it will be a Pacquiao-Marquez IV.
Cotto was the last man whom Pacquiao had knocked out. But that was three years ago. Since then, all Pacquiao wins were all decisions until the controversial loss to Bradley. And Cotto?s career has been on an ascent. He has 75% KO win as compared to Pacquiao?s 63%.
The Puerto Rican faced former world pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. last May and lost a unanimous decision. But he was able to put up a good challenge earning him the respect of Pretty Boy himself and the millions of fans all over the world, thereby increasing his marketability.
Cotto elected to fight Austin Trout, the undefeated WBA light-middleweight champion. The fight is scheduled on December 1 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Austin is an unknown fighter in the boxing world but a Cotto fight will carve his name in the annals of prizefighting.
A world title will also be at stake, Trout?s WBA light-middleweight crown, while a fight with Pacquiao will be a non-title bout. If Cotto wins the title, he will have bigger influence in facing WBC champion Saul Alvarez. He could demand equal payment and privileges if it will be a unification bout.
There were reports that Pacquiao would want to fight at the limit of 150 lbs. while Cotto wanted it at the full junior middleweight limit of 154 lbs. Cotto?s adviser Gaby Pe?agar?cano also cited other reasons for the calling off of the fight with Pacquiao. He said Cotto was in a position to say ?no? to the big fights when the conditions were not acceptable with him. Cotto is said to be the third biggest draw in boxing today and could stand on his own.
Cotto now has his own boxing promotional company, Cotto Promotions, which will be the lead promoter on December 1st, and it will be assisted by Golden Boy Promotions as the co-promoter of the championship fight. Both HBO and Showtime are interested in the fight telecast over pay-per-view.
A loss to Pacquiao would mean the downhill on Cotto?s career. During their encounter, Pacquiao knocked Cotto down in round three with a right hook, and then again in round four with a left uppercut. The ninth canto was a punishing round for Cotto as Pacquiao landed as many punches almost at will. Cotto?s wife even left the arena. But Cotto did not surrender and his corner did not throw in the towel. The referee finally stopped the fight in this round with 55 seconds left declaring Manny the winner by technical knockout. Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, with 109-99, 108-99, and 108-100. It was Pacquiao?s last knockout win.
Trout, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, has an unblemished professional record of 25 wins in 25 fights with 14 wins by KO. He is a dangerous opponent and Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs) could not take him lightly. He won the vacant WBA light-middleweight title against Mexican Rigoberto Alvarez in February 2011. He successfully defended it three times against Mexican David Alonso Lopez (unanimous decision), Australian Frank LoPorto (TKO 4th round), and Dominican Delvin Antonio Rodriguez (unanimous decision).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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