Who's the technically better boxer Pacquiao or Cotto?

Eric Crumble = Better technical boxer than Pac.

 

Insane Clown Posse = better technical rappers than Jay-z. More economical use of rhymes with lesser tongue-speed.

 

Every rhyme they make is a ****in' miracle! Like long-necked giraffes!

 

Kermit Cintron = better technical high diver than these folks:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPS1q3QBBDo&feature=related[/ame]

More economical use of aerial acrobatics with limited testicularization.

 

Like mutha****in' MAGIC!!!

 

Wanna talk about real-assed magic?

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Yeah YEAH!

 

I'm picking this up tomorrow to brush up on the miracle:

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Pacquiao by quite some distance.

The vast majority of posters on this website that I have observed seem to have a very narrow understanding of boxing, and a very rigid idea of what technical proficiency is. Therefore, I thoroughly expect Cotto to get most votes here as he has a good jab.

However, for those of us with a deeper understanding of the sport, the clear answer is Pacquiao. His defence is not conventional or classic, or aesthetically pleasing to the purists, but (much like a prime Roy Jones) the current 135lbs+ version of Pacquiao very rarely gets hit cleanly, and whenever he does it appears to be because he purposefully leaves himself in range to initiate an exchange with a cautious and/or intimidated and outgunned opponent.

By comparison, Cotto's defence is sloppy and inferior (hence the fact he has taken far more damage than Pac in his time at the top), and obviously defence is a crucial element of technical proficiency in boxing.

Pacquiao's footwork and movement alone place him in a completely different time zone to Cotto. Footwork and movement are factors often overlooked when it comes to discussions of technical ability, which is wrong wrong wrong. Pac's footwork and movement have improved immeasurably since his days at superfeather and below, and this is the key reason why he has taken a sonic leap forward from a thrilling but flawed featherweight barnburner to the greatest fighter on the planet.

In addition to his vastly superior footwork and movement to Cotto, Pacquiao has faster hands and faster feet, meaning that he is basically a superior all-round offensive force (which should already be obvious from their respective career accomplishments).

Pacquiao is also a more accurate and deadly thrower of single shots. Cotto can throw a bodypunch like scarcely anyone in the sport, but Pacquiao has a clear edge when it comes to knowing the right punch to throw at the optimum moment, and then landing it with devastating effect. The punch which punctuated a furious exchange with Erik Morales and sent El Terrible tumbling into the ropes, the punch which landed on Hatton at the same time as Pac slipped a shot from Ricky and resulted in the first knockdown of the fight, the awesome KO shot on the Hitman, and the decisive second-knockdown punch on Miguel Cotto were all evidence of a very sharp, very incisive and very clever puncher.


Many people say that Pacquiao's success is built purely on the physical side of his game, but really that **** folds like a deckchair when placed under scrutiny.

If Pac's success was purely on the back of his physical prowess, then how is he managing to utterly devastate and dominate men with clear and undeniable physical advantages over him???

Hatton was a naturally bigger and naturally stronger man. Owned.
Cotto was a naturally bigger, naturally stronger, and naturally more powerful man. Owned.
Clottey was a far naturally bigger and naturally stronger man. Owned.

So what exactly are the physical factors that allow Pacquiao to destroy all of them, if indeed all he has are his physical tools?

Speed??

You don't win a fight with just speed alone, of course not.

If you did, then Zab Judah and Shane Mosley would have beaten Cotto. But they didn't.

If you did, Zab Judah would have beaten Clottey. But he didn't.

If you did, Paulie Malignaggi would have beaten Hatton. But he didn't.


Just like Roy Jones Jr had far more to his game than speed in the 90s, Manny Pacquiao has far more to his game than speed in the 00s. That's why he is unbelievably successful where equally fast guys (Judah, Mosley, Paulie) were not.


I believe the respective performances of Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao against common opponent Antonio Margarito will underline that Pacquiao is the more cerebral and more skilled fighter.

Antonio Margarito is a very effective fighter, but he is extremely predictable and one-dimensional. He always has been. He uses his size and strength to walk you to the ropes, and then unloads.

Now if you are a similar size to Margarito but have much better punching power, then you have a great chance at taking him out of his game (like Mosley did, but Cotto does not have Mosley's power, and Pacquiao does not have Mosley's size and strength).

Cotto knew he could not do this, and chose to try and outbox him on the move instead. He did a good job of it for 5-6 rounds, but then when he began to tire he had no idea how to change the fight. His ring IQ failed him. He had no plan B. And boy, did his defensive ability fail him.

Once Margarito started to close the distance, Cotto's game basically fell apart. All of his technical shortcomings were sorely exposed. Miguel was expending huge amounts of energy trying to run away around the outside of the ring, and when he got caught, he was simply covering his face from hooks, and letting Margarito smash him with uppercut after uppercut after uppercut...

...it was a pretty shocking capitulation from Cotto, to be honest. Any fighter with a high ring IQ and a grasp of technical footwork would have known instinctively that when you're tired and you're facing a guy who is trying to catch you on the ropes every time, you simply grab him, pivot round, and then reclaim the centre of the ring on the break, and try to box round the centre of the ring as long as possible, and whenever he does manage to force you back again, do the same thing again. Mosley did it to perfection.

Movement and defensive strategy was the key for Cotto to stop eating punches and stop losing rounds in that fight, and he was utterly unable to do so.


When Pacquiao faces the same opponent (who will be fighting using the exact same tactics), his footwork and movement will not allow this to happen. He will not allow himself to get trapped, he will not allow himself to eat uppercuts. He will use his footwork and movement to elude Margarito, and get himself into prime attacking positions, and then back out again before he can be punished.

Therein lies the sublime brilliance of Pacquiao as a fighter.

Cotto had hell with both Clottey and Margarito. Pacquiao didn't and won't. Because he is on another level. :good

 

I'd say Cotto had the edge a few fights before his Uncle left him vs Pac right now, and now with Steward i'd say they could be called equally skilled technical fighters.

 

:rofl

 

Cotto is so much better technically yet manny outboxed him and beat him to a pulp for 12 rounds?

 

Why is that a contradiction?

 

Marquez Barrera and Morales are also better technically than Manny, but they still got outhustled and outfought.

 

pacquiao had hell with marquez.2WICE.NEXT