Originally posted by BraggartKilla
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Everybody knows that Cotto is bigger and stronger than Pacquiao. However, strength alone does not guarantee you to win a fight. You need to factor in speed, skills, and heart which Pacquiao have an advantage. As I've said before Pacquiao will KTFO Cotto in the 6th round. Seriously...
Power - Cotto
Speed - Paq, but I think people don't realize how fast Cotto is. Cotto was just as fast as Mosley in that fight, Paq is definitely faster but don't underestimate Cotto.
Timing - This is probably the closest comparison these two guys have, but I have to go with Cotto, his jab just lands perfectly more often than any one of Paqs other punches.
Defense - Neither guy has STELLAR defense... however, I think Cotto has better defense in terms of blocking punches but Paq's constant movement is his defense where avoiding is more important than blocking. The problem I have giving this to Paq is that he hasn't been in there with an opponent who uses the jab and comes with the pressure that Cotto does. When Paq gets into exchanges he gives it out but he also receives a lot in the process, where as Cotto if he gets into an exchange he usually comes out ahead, his problem is getting caught on the way in or if he gets caught on the ropes. Also, Paq leaves his hands very high and open for body shots when he blocks but Cotto has that up the middle weakness. I'll have to give the nod to Paq here but not by much because as I said he does get hit when he gets in an exchange and Cotto's defense isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
Chin - I'm going to say equal. Cotto hasn't never been knocked down at 147, he took a knee against Marg and was rocked against Judah but he's never been legitimately knocked on his ass from a punch at 147. Paq's been KO'd from a body shot before and he can get rocked as well as we saw in the Morales and Marquez fights. The only reason I don't give the nod to Paq though is because his chin hasn't been tested above 135, and for that I'm going to call it even.
Overall I think Cotto wins by late round KO or very close decision. Paq has got two flaws that are Cotto's strength. The first is the way Paq covers up, he leaves his entire body wide open, and unlike most boxers Cotto likes to mix up body punches either beginning, in the middle or ending with body punches, essentially they can come at any point. Manny only covers up when backing off as well and Cotto coming forward is not a good thing for Paq. The second and I think the bigger of the two is that Manny loves to exchange, he's a warrior. The problem is Cotto is the biggest man Manny has faced and he's been rocked before when getting into exchanges and Cotto has the power to KO Manny. Paq will have to move in and out like in the DLH fight, however, Cotto has that jab which can offset all of that movement.
Paq has a solid chance of winning this fight, don't get me wrong. If he moves like he did in the DLH fight, really puts a lot of focus into the eye that Cotto cut in the Clottey fight, and most importantly puts Cotto on the defensive. But... then again if Cotto goes into counter punching/boxing mode, or what others call "gassing," Manny could get caught with something and all it takes is one punch to not just possibly end the fight but one punch but change the pace.
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