Round 1 , Pacquiao - De La Hoya II
That's right you heard it here first.
Pacquiao and De La Hoya rematch, this time in the vocal
booth! Manny and Oscar both fancy themselves as
"singers," so what happens when they meet in a recording
studio? Oscar's CD was Grammy nominated and I'm giving him
the edge in vocals but is he the complete musical package? I
think not! While De La Hoya may be the stronger vocalist
Manny Pacquiao brings something extra to the table in the
fact that he plays the guitar. It's clear as day that
Pacquiao is the more rounded musician of the two, but in all
fairness, neither man should quit his day job.
Round 2, Charisma
It's almost next to impossible not to
like this guy. Most of you are under the impression that I
hate Pacquiao because I believe Miguel Cotto will win their
upcoming bout, but the truth is I like Manny Pacquiao
because it's so damn hard not to. His smile is infectious
and when isn't he smiling? He is a man that loves life and
everything it has done for him. He appreciates his fans
which is something that can't be said of every athlete. I
challenge someone to find reasons not to like him.
Round 3, Life outside the ring
"Pacquiao: The Movie" - A film based on his
life came out in 2006. And if that's not enough Pacquiao
himself is an action movie star in the Philippines. Heck, even Sylvester Stallone is planning to shoot a movie with
him. Pacquiao was named one of the world's most influential
persons in 2009 by Time magazine, and that's quite an honor
I may add. He has his own postage stamp and
he even ran for a Congressional seat in 2007. About the only
thing I think he can't do right now is beat Miguel Cotto.
Round 4, The Greatest of all Time??
Someone recently posted on the BRC
message board that he/she is writing a book titled "Manny
Pacquiao: The Greatest of all Time." I had to read the post
a few times before I actually believed what I was reading. I
have no problem giving Manny his credit where it's due by
saying that he is one of the best fighters of his
generation, but to go as far as to say "The Greatest Of All
Time" is a stretch and a big stretch at that. To say that is
a slap in the face to the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe
Louis, Henry Armstrong, Willie Pep, and Muhammad Ali to name
a few. Manny has done many great things in boxing but he has
a ways to go before he can even entertain the thought of
being called the GOAT.
Round 5, Floyd Mayweather
I believe Floyd Mayweather is the
greatest active fighter in the world right now hands down.
But I also believe he gave up his P4P crown when he
"retired." Pacquiao wasted no time in picking up the crown
after Floyd's "retirement." Even though I do believe Floyd
is the best I also believe he needs to fight and beat the
man who holds the crown before he can consider himself the
P4P once again. If Cotto beats Pacquiao and I believe he
will, will he then be the P4P champion? Bottom line is
this... Floyd Mayweather must fight and beat the winner of
Cotto - Pacquiao before he can shout from the mountain top
he's the P4P champ.
Round 6, Freddie Roach
Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao have
become one of the greatest teams in recent boxing memory.
Very seldom do a fighter and trainer click as well as these
two have. They just seem to understand each other well in
and out of the ring. They may bicker from time to time, but
what family members don't? The biggest mistake Pacquiao can
make is to break away from Roach and find a new corner to
work with. These two are a modern day version of Angelo
Dundee and Muhammad Ali. I will say it again, Pacquiao
should never separate from Freddie Roach.
Round 7, Weight class
Manny started his career weighing in at
106 pounds. I've even heard reports he actually weighed less
than that but filled his pockets so he would weigh in at
106. Manny is fighting as a welterweight or close enough to
a welterweight at 145 pounds. My question is this, how high
in weight do you actually think he can go? Some of you
believe it won't be long until he's ready to take on Lt.
Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson or hell, even a Klitschko
brother. Manny should never exceed the welterweight limit
because believe it or not size will catch up to him. I
believe it will when he fights Cotto. Floyd Mayweather
already proved this year that a great big man will always
beat a great little man. There is no shame in losing to
Miguel Cotto, remember that.
Round 8, First round KNOCKOUT
Stop with this first round knockout talk
already. There will be no first round knockout on fight
night. It's been a long time since Manny has been stopped
and he's proven he can take a punch and the same can be said
for Cotto, who not only has shown he can take a punch, but
he can take a beating. I believe there are only two
scenarios for this fight: one is a late round Cotto knockout
and two a late round Pacquiao knockout. We are going to get
our money's worth out of this fight, and you heard it here
first... This fight will go past 8 rounds people.
Round 9, After Cotto
Where does Manny go after the Miguel
Cotto fight? If he loses the Cotto fight where does he go
from there? Does he retire, or does he demand a rematch? Or
does he move back down in weight? Does he stay at
welterweight? And if he does get the win over Cotto who's
next? Will Floyd and Manny actually be able to agree on
financial terms? Maybe he should go after Shane Mosley in
what would be another super fight. If Pacquiao can beat
Mosley, Mayweather would have no choice but to take the
fight.
Round 10, Pacman Haters
So many of you are quick to jump on
anyone who doesn't agree with what you believe... (sigh!) I
believe Cotto will win and I'm labeled a "Pacman Hater."
While you may not agree with my thinking, please realize
that not everyone is going to pick Manny to win each and
every time he fights. This is boxing and one of the things
that makes the sport great is that everyone has different
theories, different opinions. How fun would it be if
everyone thought the same exact thing? I don't hate Manny
Pacquiao. I just think he's going to get knocked out and
like I said earlier there is now shame in losing,
particularly to a great warrior like Miguel Cotto.
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