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Speed defines Pacquiao victory over Cotto


In Stephen Chow's 2005 iconic laugh-a-minute, action-comedy movie "Kung Fu Hustle", the contravida known as The Beast, says: "In the world of kung fu, speed defines the winner." Manny Pacquiao and coach Freddie Roach must have seen that movie and taken to heart that quote. And in Manny's fight versus Miguel Cotto last Saturday, his speed defined his victory. Manny's speed belies the fact that he was fighting at his heaviest ever. Manny started fighting at 106 pounds and won world titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, and 140. This latest at 145 is his seventh. Throughout, he maintained his speed and further amplified his power. Cotto was supposed to be the more powerful of the two, being naturally bigger and used to fighting at 147 lbs. Experts said Pacquiao would not stand a chance against Cotto's vaunted left hook to the body. Cotto has demonstrated this powerful weapon against opponents bigger than Manny. Pundits said that if Cotto tagged Pacquiao, it would be lights out for the Pambansang Kamao. If. A big if. Manny's speed made sure that would not happen. And Manny's speed worked both ways. First, it prevented Cotto from tagging him. He looked like Peter Parker coolly dodging the punches of the school bully in Spider-Man. The bigger Cotto had a hard time hitting his smaller, quicker target. Those times that Manny got hit, it was intentional as the Pacman wanted to find out just how strong Cotto's punches were. "Our plan was not to hurry but to take our time," a beaming Pacquiao said in a ringside television interview after the fight. "We didn't panic. We just needed time to test his power," Pacquiao said. Second, Manny was not just a target, but a target that was hitting back faster and more powerful than the supposedly power-punching Cotto. The stats showed it too. The 30-year-old Pacman dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting with 336 of 780 punches thrown to 172 of 597 for Cotto. He also landed 276 power punches compared to Cotto's 93. Pacquiao's combination of speed and power dealt head blows to Cotto so fast the Baricuan bomber was quoted after the fight: "I didn't know from where the punches were coming." Ricky Hatton, who was knocked out by the Pacman in the 2nd round in their light welterweight match in May, also said the same thing. "Manny dictated the fight and they should have stopped it three rounds sooner than they did after he (Cotto) began to run," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said. Cotto, who suffered a cut above the right eye and had his nose bloodied after being repeatedly battered by Pacquiao's jabs and punches, said: "Manny is one of the best boxers I ever fought." It wasn't like Manny's speed was a secret weapon. In fact Manny is known for his speed. In preparing for the fight, Cotto's trainer Joe Santiago was aware of it. But perhaps, unless you actually get into the ring with Manny, you wouldn't know how fast he really is. In an interview a week before the fight, Santiago was confident Cotto could deal with the Pacman's speed. “I think that Miguel has shown everybody that he can deal with speed, with (Shane) Mosley and with Zab Judah," said Santiago. “I don’t think it is a problem with speed. I think the rhythm that Manny brings to the fight, I don’t think people think Miguel can stay with that speed. But I think he will. I not only think he can stay with the rhythm but I think he will enjoy fighting that kind of fight. I think it will be a very interesting fight and I think Miguel will come out victorious in the fight by just doing what he always does, coming forward, throwing punches and being strong." We all know that didn't work out. After the fourth round, Cotto was not coming forward but rather back-pedaling all the way to a 12th round TKO loss. In Manny's boxing world, his speed defines his legacy. - GMANews.TV

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