Better Pacquiao Performance - Cotto or Barrera I?

Discussion in 'British Boxing Forum' started by Spearmint Rhino, Oct 28, 2011.


  1. Spearmint Rhino

    Spearmint Rhino Guest

    I watched these two last night, having read lots of posts on here recently giving Pacquiao huge kudos for beating Barrera at 126 in 2003 thought I'd give it a re-run, followed by the Cotto fight, which for me is his most recent top notch win and masterclass performance.

    So..... which do you guys prefer?

    Was Barrera made for him..... still at his best.....

    Was Cotto damaged goods..... was the weight a big thing.....

    Who was the better fighter of the two, and who was beaten more impressively.....

    and so on :good
     
    Spearmint Rhino, Oct 28, 2011
    Spearmint Rhino, Oct 28, 2011
    #1
  2. Mandanda

    Mandanda SkillspayBills Full Member

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    Oct 21, 2008
    I'd say Barrera, I believe Cotto by then was mentally scared and physically not as his peak. He actually was doing some really good work up till he was dropped and then fell apart mainly because he become frustrated rather fast and opened up stupidly plus having a friend and not a boxing trainer in corner didn't help. The weight also wasn't as big a thing as many including myself thought as Manny walks around at that weight he's not that small in reality.

    I wish Cotto never reacted so bad to first knockdown as he was really working well behind jab but it was clear to me the mental affects of the Margarito fight was still there.

    So i'd go with Barrera on this one..although he was more wild his style really caused problems for Barrera. He's become a more rounded fight and Nacho Berestein has said JMM will like this rather then the wildcat Pacquiao of yesteryear.
     
    Mandanda, Oct 28, 2011
    Mandanda, Oct 28, 2011
    #2
  3. Pad-Man

    Pad-Man ***Team England*** Full Member

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    Barrera and Cotto, 2 guys destroyed by Pac that I wish would of fought Floyd at some point.

    I'd say Cotto because Pac has got better since the Barrera fight imho and Cotto fought the better version. As Mand says, he was doing well and hurt Pac when on the ropes with bodyshots but Pac is just that ATG that can really put his opponents away.
     
    Pad-Man, Oct 28, 2011
    Pad-Man, Oct 28, 2011
    #3
  4. wow_junky

    wow_junky Retired Full Member

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    Barrera was the better win P4P, but Cotto was the tougher fight due to the higher weight, so I'd rank them about the same.

    Performance wise, but were pretty much spot on, I'd be nitpicking if I tried to justify one over the over.
     
    wow_junky, Oct 28, 2011
    wow_junky, Oct 28, 2011
    #4
  5. Uncle Rico

    Uncle Rico Loyal Member Full Member

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    Jun 28, 2009
    Hard to say. I've not seen the MAB fight for quite a while, but I'd have to go with that due to the massive upset it was at the time. However, I think Pacquiao displayed a better all-round set of skills against Cotto. I'd also say that, against Cotto, he was up against a far more daunting task, too. Unlike Barrera, who was relatively the same size at the time, Pacquiao couldn't rely soley on aggression against the bigger and stronger Cotto. He was forced to think more, and adapt when things weren't going his way early on.
     
    Uncle Rico, Oct 28, 2011
    Uncle Rico, Oct 28, 2011
    #5
  6. izmat

    izmat Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Sep 19, 2008
    I knew this guy was special when he shocked the boxing world by battering Barerra. But I rate his win against Cotto because I never expected Pac to hurt him and eat his punches
     
    izmat, Oct 28, 2011
    izmat, Oct 28, 2011
    #6