Like I said, what Pac did was still great and sure we didn't expect him to do it at that time. it still doesn't change the fact that at the time of the fight we all expected a beat down. It would be bigger if we thought Pac was a huge underdog like he was vs DLH but he wasn't. Pac was expected to beat down Cotto, Margarito, Clottey.
to be honest i thought cotto would probably beat pac. didn't think pac could survive cotto's body attack and the pressure would eventually be too much for him. also thought hatton would be able to do the same. too bad floyd sr ruined him and made him cocky enough to have no respect for pac trying to walk through him. both wins were shocking to me, which is why i can't take anything away from pac and become such an admirer of his talent. tito before hopkins and tyson at his peak were the closest to this destructive force pac has become, where now fans expect no less than him fighting the middleweight champ as his only meaningful fight.
it's all well and dandy bumping a thread from 2008, the fact remains that when pac fought cotto straight after the cotto v clottey fight where cotto looked like ****, pac was indeed the betting favourite and rightfully so.
Cotto? beat down? No one expected it would be a beatdown except for the hardcore pac fans. Most people favor pacquiao but in a close fight.