Did Cotto lose alot of his power or has Manny's chin got that much better?

Since he beat Oscar and Hatton without getting scratched. But I understand your point. It's just that a lot people kept thinking that since Pacquiao rarely got hit in those fights ("drained Oscar", "overrated Hatton", etc.) that he was going to fold under Cotto's strenght and punching power.

 

Can we stop with the "Manny started at 106 pounds". I weighed 124 at 16 and I was not even boxing then. If I were, then I would have been in that weight category. I ended up fighting at 156. I started sparring with HW's and CW's when I first started. I weighed 187 and melted down to 141 until I gave it up. Most poor fighters start at ages 15 to 16. Manny fighting at these higher weights is not a phenomenom. I still give him credit for taking all these hard shots though. PBF is another fighter that started at a low weight and Camacho, Sr was said to have fought at 118. Your body grows, but if you can't take a punch, you can't take a punch.

 

I agree with Oscar, but Hatton was not overrated. He beat some decent fighters at 140 and I believe he won the title at 140 a couple of times. He was a good fighter at 140 and actually no one has beaten him at 140 let alone KO him. That is what opened my eyes with Pac even though I still thought Cotto would beat him. How wrong I was.

 

I picked Cotto to win, but not because I thought Manny was some wilting violet who couldn't take a punch. Most of the punches I heard people say Manny was "hurt" by are just shots where he got caught off balance, then had to cover up on the ropes for the ensuing flurry. Morales did this to him a bunch of times, but Manny was never wobbled or in any serious danger of being stopped in those fights. And Cotto at 147 especially, was never a one punch KO guy.

The story of the fight for me is that Manny has grown into 147, his power there is absolutely devastating, and he can now execute extremely detailed strategies under fire. I was never worried much about his punch resistance.

 

oh you aint hear? steroids help you take a punch according to Mayweather Sr.

 

Cotto has been in with the best of the division, and he did very well against a peak-performance margarito, hitting him flush with punches almost at will in the first half,
but as we know nothing bothered margarito. Against Clottey he was in with another tough guy, Manny fought Cotto at a make or break kinda moment for Cotto, and Cotto just didn't seem right.
I think it might be to the high caliber of fights he's been in in a relative short time, he just couldn't take it and he probably didn't have the confidence and beleif in his abilities including his power, and Manny psyched him with his reaction to Cotto's punches, like Manny said the punches hurt but of course he shook them of and looked like he was ready for more... That being said Pacquiao is very strong and was excellent in the fight.

 

Yes, this is pretty much what I was pointing at with my first post. You grow into a weight class. Especially starting at 16 years of age.

 

:good That was my turning point on picking Pacquiao over Cotto. I knew Pac was the better p4p fighter and he also seemed to get better and well adjusted to the different weight classes after every fight.

 

Pacquiao's legs (particularly his giant calves) could probably stand on their own regardless of the presence of a nervous system.

I'd contend that the uppercut and hook combo in round 3 did hurt the hell out of Manny, but his well-conditioned legs and more importantly, his mental strength allowed him very much to stay up. And for all we know, he could be doing that bamboo stick conditioning on his chin as well as his body.

 

Yeah, I should have listened to you, Tyson, and Hopkins.

I agree Borincano. I feel like in the usual sense of the term, Manny is a natural super bantamweight. Which still makes what he's doing phenomenal, but he's no "natural" flyweight.

 

Well I also remember Cotto's chin was his downfall at 140 cause he was losing all this weight before a fight and that's why he was gaining like 15 pounds on fight night. He moves up to 147 and all of a sudden he looks fine !!

When Pacquiao was fighting at 130, he was gaining 15 pounds from the weigh-in to fight night....He looks much better now cause he barely moves up in weight after the weigh-in.

Yes cutting excessive weight hurts the body and affects resistance, chin, stamina, power...name it !

 

His corner were stupid. After the second round, they said to him that Pac has only left hand and he got dropped by the right hand in the 3rd. After the 9th round, they were saying you are doing great, great round, and the funniest, "we are with you" (as if they are the one absorbing the punishment). There was never a strategy mentioned like circle to your right or left. He was backpedalling on staright line (most reasonable probably if he wants to go as far away from Manny) which indicated that he does not want to absorb any more punishment. He was jabbing but with no conviction anymore. The least that the trainer should have done is to stop the fight and save Cotto from further damage both in his phsically well-being and psyche. If the trainer stopped the fight, that also saved Cotto's dignity because it was not him who stopped the fight.

The poignant event actually was when Cotto planted a kiss on his father, signifying that he is in for a long night of beating. It was a touching moment and probably a clue that the trainer should have taken/\.

 

I think they named this fight right on " Fire Power" because they were both throwing some ammunition.

 

Weight drained....screw the catch weights !!!!

 

Manny is just a solid guy with a great chin. He's never been KO'd by a shot to the chin...to the body...yea.