An Early Preview: Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao

With the fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao close to being signed, what can we expect?

All the talk recently has been about what weight the two fighters will agree to meet each other at. Early speculation is that the fight will be at a catch-weight - most likely 144 lbs. I feel, personally, Manny Pacquiao should meet Miguel Cotto at welterweight and forget the catch-weight; if Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto at a catch-weight lower than 147 lbs., excuses will start to creep up: Miguel Cotto was weight drained. He wasn't comfortable fighting lower than welterweight. Cotto's frame is too big. He was dehydrated . . . and so on. For such a mega-fight, boxing fans do not want excuses. May the best man win ( Let's not forget, Manny Pacquiao is perfectly capable of fighting at welterweight).

Regardless of what weight the fight takes place, Manny Pacquiao will have a significant speed advantage over Miguel Cotto. Cotto will have the power advantage - and will be bigger ( Ricky Hatton was bigger too and look how that worked out for him). Miguel Cotto is no Ricky Hatton, in that he's more of an operator inside the ring; Ricky Hatton was one dimensional, Cotto's not.

I think Manny Pacquiao's in and out south-paw style will give Cotto a lot of trouble. The outcome will be determined by how well Miguel Cotto can adapt to Manny Pacquiao's relentlessness and speed. We already know what to expect from Pacquiao - he brings it everytime he steps into the ring. The question mark remains on Cotto; will his confidence and self belief be where it was prior to his fight with Margarito? I don't think it will be. Not to say Miguel Cotto wont bring the house of cards on fight night, because he will. However, I don't think Miguel Cotto is where he was, say, two years ago.

I think the fight will be competitive until the very end. One reason I do not think Pacquiao will blow Cotto out of the water is for the simple fact that, Cotto has a good jab and underrated speed. The jab of Cotto will give Manny trouble - but in the end, someone is getting stopped and it'll most likely be Miguel Cotto. Manny Pacquiao has better stamina than Miguel Cotto. I think Manny's superior stamina will be the deciding factor in this bout.

My early prediction: Manny Pacquiao wins via 10 round TKO.