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Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto: Pacquiao’s Greatest Performance?

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By Hector Franco

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Published: November 14, 2024

Throughout the four decades, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao made the squared circle his home; numerous memorable battles captivated audiences in the arena and watching at home. The Filipino Pacman has a plethora of fights on his resume that not only suggest but validate he is one of boxing's all-time greats.

For some, his thrashing over Marco Antonio Barrera for the lineal featherweight championship in November 2003 firmly laid the foundation and trajectory of his career. Pacquiao was the underdog and had only made his way into the United States two years earlier. At the time, Barrera was rated as one of boxing's best fighters pound-for-pound. Others may prefer his mainstream star-making performance against Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008, where he fought the perfect fight against the right opponent, putting the six-division champion who moonlighted as a promoter straight into a full-time job.

Pacquiao was also part of arguably the most significant rivalry of the century against Juan Manuel Marquez. The duo participated in three razor-close fights, which almost ended with three knockdowns in the first round of their first encounter, followed by a knockout for the ages by Marquez in the fourth and final fight.

But which of Pacquiao's fights truly changed the perception of him? Which fight changed him from being viewed as an exciting fighter to one of the best to lace up a pair of gloves? It may be his performance against Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto in November 2009.

BACKGROUND

After making his splash into the United States as a late replacement against Lehlo Ledwaba in June 2001, Pacquiao entered into a series of fights at featherweight and super featherweight with the Mexican trio of Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales. Following a loss to Morales (March 2005) in a classic back-and-forth brawl in Pacquiao's first headling pay-per-view (PPV), the Filipino started to progress from the wildcat one-handed brawler to more of a complete fighter.

Pacquiao would avenge his loss to Morales twice, stopping the Mexican fighter in two rematches. It was in 2008 that Pacquiao truly began his ascent to the top of the boxing world. Starting in March 2008, Pacquiao walked away with a split decision victory over Marquez in a fight where a knockdown in the third round made the difference on the judge's scorecards. Although the fight could have been scored for either fighter, both fighters' showing made for another classic battle.

He then followed up the rematch with Marquez with what can be described as three nearly flawless performances. Pacquiao demolished David Diaz over nine rounds for the WBC lightweight title and then retired Oscar De La Hoya in a welterweight contest over eight rounds to end a historic 2008. Pacquiao then moved down to junior welterweight to face the lineal champion Ricky Hatton in a fight that was thought to be a test for the fighting southpaw. However, Pacquiao dispensed of Hatton in two rounds, scoring the most memorable knockout of his career. After the Hatton fight, Pacquiao set his eyes back on the welterweight division and a fellow promotional stablemate at Top Rank.

Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto was the heir apparent to the boxing throne of his island nation. After making six defenses of his WBO junior welterweight title, Cotto made his way up to welterweight, establishing himself as the premier Puerto Rican fighter of his era. Wins over Carlos Quintana, Zab Judah, and Shane Mosley in massively entertaining clashes, two of which occurred at Madison Square Garden in front of rowdy pro-Puerto Rican fans.

Cotto was on the path to becoming one of the sport's genuine superstars but ran into a speed bump against Antonio Margarito in July 2008. Cotto would succumb to Margarito's relentless pressure and iron chin over 11 rounds after being forced to take knees as he was left with a bloody and bruised face. Of course, in retrospect, Margarito's victory has a proverbial asterisk as most believe he cheated with suspect hand wraps against Cotto.

While Cotto stayed out of the ring for the remainder of 2008, he returned the following year, picking up where he left off. Cotto picked up the vacant WBO welterweight title by stopping Michael Jennings in five rounds. He then went straight back into the fire against Joshua Clottey in the summer in another extremely strenuous fight where he suffered a cut above his left eye. A knockdown in the first round with a jab ultimately made the difference in the judge's scorecards. Cotto was once again a world champion and had proven the Margarito fight hadn't stopped him from being one of the best welterweights in the world.

Pacquiao was in attendance for Cotto’s fight with Clottey. And while there were some moments of apprehension, Pacquiao-Cotto was next. The fight, promoted as Fire Power, was set for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 14, 2009.

TRAINING

It wouldn't be a Pacquiao training camp without dysfunction. The Filipino training camp was held in three locations, two of which were in Pacquiao's native Philippines in Baguio and Manila. The camp was filled with distractions, with Pacquiao's continuing political career taking his full attention from boxing. Even inside his camp, his strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, and advisor, Michael Koncz, were constantly at odds.

Also, the Philippines had been ravaged by typhoons, flooding much of the country and leaving many displaced without homes. The typhoons only added to the pressure of Pacquiao's success against Cotto to maintain his status as the country's hero. Once Pacquaio landed back in Los Angeles, training at the Wild Card Gym, his focus was primarily on preparing for Cotto.

Cotto's training camp wasn't the most ideal. Following Cotto's win over Michael Jennings, Cotto's relationship with longtime trainer and uncle Evangelista Cotto ended on bad terms. Cotto switched trainers to Joe Santiago, a relatively unknown assistant on the former Olympians’s team. Santiago proved himself worthy in the fight with Clottey; however, many maintained that Cotto was running the show, not him.

While the new trainer and the loss to Margarito were all considered factors heading into the fight with Pacquiao, the most disputed and controversial aspect was the 145-pound catchweight. The catchweight was enforced by Pacquiao's camp, specifically, his trainer Freddie Roach, who felt that given his fighter's smaller stature and relative inexperience at welterweight, a catchweight was fair. While the catchweight wasn't egregious, it was unnecessary. Pacquiao would have three other catchweight fights in the future against Antonio Margarito, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Chris Algieri. But, all of those seemed to benefit both combatants.

Fortunately, at the weigh-in, Cotto did not look weight-drained and was in one of the best shapes of his career. He didn't look anywhere near the likes of Erik Morales at 130 pounds in his rematch with Pacquiao, which wasn't contested at a catchweight.

THE FIRST FOUR ROUNDS

No matter the anticipation or promotion, more often than not, most fights don't live up to expectations. In the case of Pacquiao-Cotto, the first rounds are among the most exciting of any fight that has been the main event of a major PPV.

"This is what we came for!" -- Larry Merchant after the second round.

It was apparent from the start that Cotto wouldn't be steamrolled in the fashion of Ricky Hatton as he looked just as fast and ready with a gameplan as Pacquiao. The first two rounds were filled with exchanges where each fighter had their moments. At the beginning of the third, Pacquiao scored a knockdown using a two-one combination ending with a right hand. Cotto, however, wasn't hurt and won the remainder of the round. The knockdown seemed to invigorate Cotto as he continued to pump the jab and push Pacquiao against the ropes.

With less than a minute remaining in the fourth round, Pacquiao allowed Cotto to gain confidence while he was against the ropes, only to turn the tables on the Puerto Rican. Pacquiao landed an uppercut combination as Cotto advanced, putting the former junior welterweight champion down. Cotto was hurt and lucky to get out of the round this time.

THE REST OF THE FIGHT

The remainder of the fight had nowhere near the action as the first four rounds. Almost every round resembled the next as Cotto retreated while throwing some combinations with jabs, while Pacquiao applied pressure, landing counter punches and combinations. By the ninth round, it was clear that Cotto was taking a beating, and the fight was heading toward its conclusion. Referee Kenny Bayless ended the fight in the 12th round after Pacquiao landed another straight left hand.

With the victory, Pacquiao became boxing's first seven-division world champion and held the WBO welterweight title. In the span of two years, Pacquiao had broken out of being considered boxing's most exciting fighter to the sport's number one pound-for-pound position.

"We thought Manny Pacquiao was great; he's better than we thought. " -- Larry Merchant

CONTROVERSY

Following Pacquiao's win over Cotto, the enthusiasm and anticipation for a fight between him and Mayweather was at an all-time high—however, negotiations between boxing's two biggest names ended with drug testing. Mayweather wanted the testing to include random blood testing until the fight, and with Pacquiao believing that the blood withdrawal would affect his performance, he negotiated for a 24-day window. To this day, Pacquiao has never failed a drug test, including for the Cotto fight, but this decision to ask for a window of any kind led many to believe Pacquiao was hiding something. To this day, some believe this period of Pacquiao's career is questionable.

Mayweather and members of his team were some of Pacquiao's most well-known detractors, believing that Pacquiao's ascension to the top through so many weight classes had to be unnatural. The Cotto fight, in particular, fueled the fire.

"It took me years to get to here—years," Mayweather said. "I'm going up in weight, but I'm not walking through no damn fighters. Pacquiao is 106; now he decides to walk through (Miguel) Cotto? Cotto can't knock down Shane Mosley, but he can?"

Former Cotto opponent and two-time titleholder Paulie Malignaggi has never been afraid to express himself, and his thoughts on Pacquiao have been well documented. Malignaggi initially believed Pacquiao had no chance against Cotto, even stating he may be the best fighter in history if he won.

"If Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto, I'm telling you, man, he might be the best fighter ever, said Malignaggi. I'm telling you. At this point, he's beaten Oscar and Ricky, and I don't think Ricky's as good as people give him credit for.

But, regardless of the fact, if Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto, you have to consider him maybe the best fighter in history, man, because now he's done it. And it means he's done it all. Really, he's done it all. I mean, this is a welterweight who might be the best welterweight in the world in Miguel Cotto-and legitimately."

FINAL THOUGHTS

Every perfect performance has a caveat. For Floyd Mayweather, many consider his win over Diego Corrales to be his best performance. Many would say Corrales was weight-drained and returning from a jail stint. Bernard Hopkins' win over Felix Trinidad occurred two weeks after the September 11th attacks, leading Trinidad to stay in New York to promote the fight while Hopkins left for Philadelphia to continue training. Even Terence Crawford's win over Errol Spence can be criticized as Spence was inactive, weight-drained, and arguably never the same after his car accident.

Pacquiao's win over Cotto isn't without faults. The unnecessary catchweight, Cotto's inexperienced trainer, and the Margarito fight, which only took place a year before, are all legitimate reasons to criticize the victory. However, Cotto's style of being a left-hand dominant fighter, much like Barrera and De La Hoya before him, would have likely led to losing to Pacquiao in the same fashion.

It's rare for a fighter to have near-perfect showings. Notwithstanding the rematch with Marquez, Pacquiao had four in a row against Diaz, De La Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto. In two years, 2008 and 2009, Pacquiao catapulted himself from a Hall-of-Famer to an all-time great. In those two years, he had a finish-line win over Floyd Mayweather to win the BWAA's Fighter of the Decade award for 2000-2009. It wasn't without its share of controversy or issues one can dispute, but Pacquiao's win over Miguel Cotto was an example of true greatness in action.

(Featured Photos: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)

#HF #Manny Pacquiao #Miguel Cotto #Puerto Rico

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