Post by Baqu3ro on Nov 11, 2009 17:59:46 GMT 8
Why Cotto's size won't matter
November 9, 4:19 PM
Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner
Dennis "dSource" Guillermo
Pacquiao as a teen (Photo by: Time Magazine)
In his first year as a pro boxer, 16-year old Manny Pacquiao had to secretly carry steel weights in his pockets during weigh-ins just so he could make weight. Now if you ask why any boxer would want to do such a thing, you have to understand first hand the situation the man (correction) boy was coming from.
For starters, Pacquiao came from a third-world country where the poverty rate is almost 40%. He ran away from home as a young boy when he found out that his dad turned his dog and best friend into what the Spanish call "Tapas" or what Filipinos call as "Pulutan" and what Americans call as a "snack" or perhaps others "disgusting".
That's when he stumbled upon boxing and took his talent and potential alongside his malnourished body to the big city hundreds of miles away from home. He moved to Manila and almost instantly turned pro, fighting for peanuts in a weekly boxing show called "Blow by Blow". There was one problem though, he was too light. His first fight which was at 106 at age 16 may be shocking to a lot of people especially right now with the way he has breezed through the higher weight classes but truth be told he wasn't even heavy enough to compete. As Pacquiao himself revealed, he carried steel weights in his shorts during weigh-ins just so he could be allowed to get in the ring. Not only did Pacquiao wanted to fight, he needed to. A victory meant a few hundred pesos that would help his esurient stomach to a few days of decent meals.
In his first year as a pro, he fought 12 times in 12 months. He won the first 11 until he was hit by a vicious body shot by Rustico Torrecampo that dropped him like a fly in his 12th fight as a pro. Pacquiao was fighting bigger, stronger, grown men while being worked like a dog, fighting for tiny checks and lacking proper nutrition. After the break, Pacquiao took a couple of months off and did construction work on the side to help get by. He even said he contemplated walking away from the sport as it wasn't really as glamorous as it is here in the US compared back home in the Philippines. I should know, I was there.
I saw a couple of Pacquiao's early fights as a teen in '95. Most of the shows in his first year were held in my hometown Mandaluyong. I was 14 and together with a few friends, we would get by security or jump the walls to watch fights for free. The first time I caught Pacquiao fight was his fourth pro fight against Dele Decierto. Decierto was also undefeated at 2-0 and looked more mature and built than Pacquiao. Pacquiao was really skinny although you could see he was already ripped even at a young age. My buddies picked the bigger and meaner looking guy and I told them I got this skinny "rugby-sniffing" kid. (Sorry, that's what he looked like to me back then.)
Even back then when people hardly knew him, the joy in Pacquiao's face radiated as he walked to the ring anticipating war. I remember telling my friends, "look how happy this guy is like he is going to a party". Little did I know, what I was about to witness after the sound of the bell was his coming out party in my consciousness. Pacquiao blasted his opponents away looking almost comical as his gloves looked disproportionately big compared to his skinny body. His punches hit like bricks though- yes even way back. Go ahead and ask boxing scribe Ronnie Nathanielsz who I remember doing a lot of the TV commentary back then for Pacquiao's early fights. So if Floyd Mayweather Sr. thinks only steroids can give an athlete such power in his fists, then all I can say is that, only losers think that way, because only losers would resort to and even think about steroids. Pacquiao was a heavy-hitter even without proper nutrition and conditioning. Perhaps that is his true steroids. Food. Being able to be nourished properly has given him more strength, power and energy in the ring later on in his career.
Manny Pacquiao fought 12 fights in his first year as a pro fighting bigger, stronger, grown men as he resorted to secretly putting metal weights in his shorts just so he can make weight during weigh-ins. Now that he got a strength and conditioning coach who makes sure he eats, trains and stays in shape the right way, how can you start saying someone who is merely 5 pounds heavier than his last opponent be too big for him?
A lot have invested their faith on Miguel Cotto's size and strength advantage against Manny Pacquiao for their mega-fight on Saturday night. And as much as I agree that Cotto definitely is the strongest fighter Pacquiao will have faced, I simply don't think it's what will get him a victory against Pacquiao. If you simply want to base it on size, Cotto ain't big enough for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is a natural born fighter. And fighters this great, can't be subjected to the same logic as most fighters are. Who else do you see as joyful in the ring as this guy every time he fights? I can't blame underachievers like Kermit Cintron and Floyd Mayweather Sr. for thinking such a small guy like Pacquiao can go up in weight and the way he did without taking any steroids- that's all they know. As the saying goes, you can't please everybody. Even great athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have their haters, but at the end of the day, fact remains that Pacquiao has never failed a drug test and Cintron and Mayweather Sr. are light years behind Pacquiao in terms of being a great boxer.
Truth be told, it's Pacquiao's skill that has made him better than ever. He always had that power and speed. Why not question him for steroids then? Well because back then he had a lot of flaws in his game. And now that those flaws have been corrected, his detractors are running out of things to say. Steroids? Please... If people in the Philippines used steroids then why do we still not have any gold medals int he Olympics? Last time I checked, steroids in an American thing. Mark McGuire, Marion Jones, you already know.
So when Cotto's trainer joe Santiago said, "Manny Pacquiao is a bloated 126 pounds. He's a fighter who started at 108 pounds and has reached 145. It is very bold and so far has gone well, but on November 14, it'll be different. We have great respect for his career and hats off to him for what he's done in boxing, but on that day Miguel will be the stronger man in the ring. That will be one of the points in our favor." All I got to say is that he forgot to check under the hood. Cotto may be a nicely tricked out muscle car with 600 hp but just as Bernard Hopkins said in an interview, "Manny Pacquiao is a Ferrari". www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPYNrWM59Ek
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Cotto can't beat Pacquiao nor does he have a size and strength edge, but at the same time, if Ricardo Torres and Zab Judah's left wobbled him, Manny Pacquiao's left can definitely put him out for good. Cotto will have to fight smart and be on his A-game to beat Pacquiao. Relying on his size and strength alone is a misguided thought. Pacquiao won't stand stationary like Clottey. His punches cut like razor blade and his blinding speed and relentless flurries makes his opponents feel as if they're on an alcohol facial after. Unless hes got the size and reach of a Paul Williams which he does not, truth be told, Cotto's size advantage won't matter. It will be his skill and how well he has trained and can adjust to Pacquiao that will.
November 9, 4:19 PM
Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner
Dennis "dSource" Guillermo
Pacquiao as a teen (Photo by: Time Magazine)
In his first year as a pro boxer, 16-year old Manny Pacquiao had to secretly carry steel weights in his pockets during weigh-ins just so he could make weight. Now if you ask why any boxer would want to do such a thing, you have to understand first hand the situation the man (correction) boy was coming from.
For starters, Pacquiao came from a third-world country where the poverty rate is almost 40%. He ran away from home as a young boy when he found out that his dad turned his dog and best friend into what the Spanish call "Tapas" or what Filipinos call as "Pulutan" and what Americans call as a "snack" or perhaps others "disgusting".
That's when he stumbled upon boxing and took his talent and potential alongside his malnourished body to the big city hundreds of miles away from home. He moved to Manila and almost instantly turned pro, fighting for peanuts in a weekly boxing show called "Blow by Blow". There was one problem though, he was too light. His first fight which was at 106 at age 16 may be shocking to a lot of people especially right now with the way he has breezed through the higher weight classes but truth be told he wasn't even heavy enough to compete. As Pacquiao himself revealed, he carried steel weights in his shorts during weigh-ins just so he could be allowed to get in the ring. Not only did Pacquiao wanted to fight, he needed to. A victory meant a few hundred pesos that would help his esurient stomach to a few days of decent meals.
In his first year as a pro, he fought 12 times in 12 months. He won the first 11 until he was hit by a vicious body shot by Rustico Torrecampo that dropped him like a fly in his 12th fight as a pro. Pacquiao was fighting bigger, stronger, grown men while being worked like a dog, fighting for tiny checks and lacking proper nutrition. After the break, Pacquiao took a couple of months off and did construction work on the side to help get by. He even said he contemplated walking away from the sport as it wasn't really as glamorous as it is here in the US compared back home in the Philippines. I should know, I was there.
I saw a couple of Pacquiao's early fights as a teen in '95. Most of the shows in his first year were held in my hometown Mandaluyong. I was 14 and together with a few friends, we would get by security or jump the walls to watch fights for free. The first time I caught Pacquiao fight was his fourth pro fight against Dele Decierto. Decierto was also undefeated at 2-0 and looked more mature and built than Pacquiao. Pacquiao was really skinny although you could see he was already ripped even at a young age. My buddies picked the bigger and meaner looking guy and I told them I got this skinny "rugby-sniffing" kid. (Sorry, that's what he looked like to me back then.)
Even back then when people hardly knew him, the joy in Pacquiao's face radiated as he walked to the ring anticipating war. I remember telling my friends, "look how happy this guy is like he is going to a party". Little did I know, what I was about to witness after the sound of the bell was his coming out party in my consciousness. Pacquiao blasted his opponents away looking almost comical as his gloves looked disproportionately big compared to his skinny body. His punches hit like bricks though- yes even way back. Go ahead and ask boxing scribe Ronnie Nathanielsz who I remember doing a lot of the TV commentary back then for Pacquiao's early fights. So if Floyd Mayweather Sr. thinks only steroids can give an athlete such power in his fists, then all I can say is that, only losers think that way, because only losers would resort to and even think about steroids. Pacquiao was a heavy-hitter even without proper nutrition and conditioning. Perhaps that is his true steroids. Food. Being able to be nourished properly has given him more strength, power and energy in the ring later on in his career.
Manny Pacquiao fought 12 fights in his first year as a pro fighting bigger, stronger, grown men as he resorted to secretly putting metal weights in his shorts just so he can make weight during weigh-ins. Now that he got a strength and conditioning coach who makes sure he eats, trains and stays in shape the right way, how can you start saying someone who is merely 5 pounds heavier than his last opponent be too big for him?
A lot have invested their faith on Miguel Cotto's size and strength advantage against Manny Pacquiao for their mega-fight on Saturday night. And as much as I agree that Cotto definitely is the strongest fighter Pacquiao will have faced, I simply don't think it's what will get him a victory against Pacquiao. If you simply want to base it on size, Cotto ain't big enough for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is a natural born fighter. And fighters this great, can't be subjected to the same logic as most fighters are. Who else do you see as joyful in the ring as this guy every time he fights? I can't blame underachievers like Kermit Cintron and Floyd Mayweather Sr. for thinking such a small guy like Pacquiao can go up in weight and the way he did without taking any steroids- that's all they know. As the saying goes, you can't please everybody. Even great athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have their haters, but at the end of the day, fact remains that Pacquiao has never failed a drug test and Cintron and Mayweather Sr. are light years behind Pacquiao in terms of being a great boxer.
Truth be told, it's Pacquiao's skill that has made him better than ever. He always had that power and speed. Why not question him for steroids then? Well because back then he had a lot of flaws in his game. And now that those flaws have been corrected, his detractors are running out of things to say. Steroids? Please... If people in the Philippines used steroids then why do we still not have any gold medals int he Olympics? Last time I checked, steroids in an American thing. Mark McGuire, Marion Jones, you already know.
So when Cotto's trainer joe Santiago said, "Manny Pacquiao is a bloated 126 pounds. He's a fighter who started at 108 pounds and has reached 145. It is very bold and so far has gone well, but on November 14, it'll be different. We have great respect for his career and hats off to him for what he's done in boxing, but on that day Miguel will be the stronger man in the ring. That will be one of the points in our favor." All I got to say is that he forgot to check under the hood. Cotto may be a nicely tricked out muscle car with 600 hp but just as Bernard Hopkins said in an interview, "Manny Pacquiao is a Ferrari". www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPYNrWM59Ek
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Cotto can't beat Pacquiao nor does he have a size and strength edge, but at the same time, if Ricardo Torres and Zab Judah's left wobbled him, Manny Pacquiao's left can definitely put him out for good. Cotto will have to fight smart and be on his A-game to beat Pacquiao. Relying on his size and strength alone is a misguided thought. Pacquiao won't stand stationary like Clottey. His punches cut like razor blade and his blinding speed and relentless flurries makes his opponents feel as if they're on an alcohol facial after. Unless hes got the size and reach of a Paul Williams which he does not, truth be told, Cotto's size advantage won't matter. It will be his skill and how well he has trained and can adjust to Pacquiao that will.