Freddie Roach was worried. He had watched Miguel Cotto’s earlier fights on film, watched the power and skill and confidence of a world champion, watched him cut off the quickness of Shane Mosley like a coyote might a jack rabbit’s attempt at escape, watched the jabs and uppercuts and counters and that thunderous left hook.
Tonight at the MGM Grand Garden, Manny Pacquiao, some 40 pounds heavier than when he made his pro debut 14 years ago, tries to add to his impressive resume when he faces veteran welterweight Miguel Cotto. With a victory over Cotto, the reigning WBO champion, Pacquiao would become the first fighter to win seven world titles in seven weight classes.
Manny Pacquiao made boxing history tonight, becoming the first fighter to win seven world titles in seven different weight classes as he scored a 12th round technical knockout victory over Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden to become the WBO welterweight champion.
Pacquiao (50-3-2) knocked Cotto down in the third and fourth rounds and dominated most of the fight. Cotto was badly bruised and cut when referee Kenny Bayless stepped in and stopped it 55 seconds into the final round. For Cotto, it was the second defeat of his career as he fell to 34-2.
It’s the fight virtually all boxing fans want to see, a fight the sport desperately needs to help re-ignite its mainstream appeal.
Blood was gushing from Miguel Cotto’s left eyebrow, rendering the WBO welterweight champion virtually blind.
In Freddie Roach’s perfect world, Manny Pacquiao would train full time in Los Angeles, Roach’s Wild Card Gym would be closed to everyone but him and Pacquiao, and those intrusive HBO “24/7” reality show cameras would be turned off.
Miguel Cotto walks into the Top Rank Gym near Interstate 15 and West Flamingo Road and it’s as though the outside world ceases to exist.
Rabbis, by nature, are peaceful people. They deal in the spiritual side of life and usually settle arguments with their brains, not their fists.
Manny Pacquiao is not one to run from a fight, be it in the ring or at the polls.
Former world champions Zab Judah and Joel Casamayor return to the ring tonight at the Palms to headline a boxing card promoted by another former world champion, Fernando Vargas.
My mother is a small, forgetful, cheerful Irish immigrant who never drove a day in her life, is convinced mashed potatoes aren’t the same without mixing in that fourth stick of butter and always thinks the next cup of coffee she drinks is the best of her lifetime.
For us logical types, let’s assume the first time Antonio Margarito tried wrapping his hands for a fight with enough plaster to shape a small cast wasn’t moments before facing Shane Mosley in January.
Long before the MTV show “Bully Beatdown” hit the airwaves, Joseph Agbeko was defending the honor of his friends in his native Ghana.
The wind was blowing so hard, it seemed as if the big pirate ship in front of Treasure Island was going to wind up sailing down Las Vegas Boulevard.
