Tag Archives: boxing

Firepower: Pacquiao v. Cotto Prediction (results)

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Update : Pacquiao wins in the 12th round. Ref Stoppage. It wasnt even close. Too damn fast! Pacquiao destroyed Cotto for 11 rounds. Bring on Pretty Boy Floyd!

On November 14th, two of the greatest boxers will square off under the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada to determine who the will be the WBO Welterweight Champion of the world.  The challenger: Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, aiming to make history by winning a 7th title in as many weight divisions and further cementing his legacy as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer today.  The champion: Miguel “I’m No Angel” Cotto, looking to silence the critics who believe he’s a “shot” fighter and restoring his name as the best welterweight fighter in the world.  Billed as firepower, this will be the most anticipated fight of the year and probably the last decade.  Pacquiao is no stranger to the world, as he built is legacy as one of the fastest fighters today stopping Mexican legends Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez and the Golden Boy Oscar Dela Hoya.  Cotto solidified his reputation as a strong fighter with a vicious left hook stopping fighters like Zab Judah and Carlos Quintana while outpointing Joshua Clottey and Sugar Shane Mosley.  Let’s break down the fight:

Speed

Anyone that’s seen Pacquiao fight knows he’s fast.  Not just in his hands, but his footwork is phenomenal.  Pacquiao, once known as a brawler who relied heavily on his speed alone to win has improved with each fight leading to the November 14th showdown.  Cotto on the other hand, looks like a turtle when compared to Pacquiao.  He may not have the blistering hand speed and footwork of Pacquiao but he certainly makes up for it in different departments.  Advantage: Pacquiao

Power

It’s no question that on paper, Cotto holds the distinct advantage in terms of physical power.  Being a natural welterweight, Cotto has dealt with fighters his size that are equally as strong if not stronger for most of his career.  His opponent on the other hand, is coming up in weight having fought as low as 106 pounds.  That’s a 40-pound difference!  But, Pacquiao has shown he can carry power while moving up in weight as evident by his 37 KO’s.  The biggest question in this department is how will Pacquiao deal with Cotto’s power as he’s never faced a prime welterweight. Advantage: Cotto by a slim margin

Team & Cornermen

If you’ve heard of Pacquiao, you’ve certainly heard of his coach Freddie Roach.  Roach is a three time trainer of the year having coached the who’s who of combat sports and celebrities like Mike Tyson, Dela Hoya, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Mickey Rourke and several MMA fighters.  Cotto, on the other hand, has a new coach in Joe Santiago who has never fought as an amateur or pro and is only 33 years old.  Santiago was promoted from nutritionist to head trainer after Cotto had a fallout and fistight with then-trainer and uncle Evangelista.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know who has the advantage here, a former boxer and veteran trainer versus a nutritionist?  Advantage: Pacquiao by a huge margin

While there are certainly more technical aspects of boxing that should be covered, I won’t go there because I’m not an expert and simply judging the fight based on my fan knowledge.  This is certainly a fight to look out for as it has the makings of a classic.  Speed v. power just like Ali v. Frazier.  Cotto, despite being the champion is the underdog while Manny is a 3-1 favorite in Vegas.  How will the fight play out?  It’s hard to say.  When the fight was officially announced, I’ll be honest I was scared for Pacquiao.  Being a Filipino myself, I was enjoying Pacquiao’s string of victories and immense rise in popularity but I knew Cotto is no joke and certainly not a pushover like Pacquiao’s two previous opponents, (Old) Dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton.  But as time went by, and the more and more I watched Cotto’s past fights (especially against Judah and Mosley) I started to realize that Pacquiao can win this fight in devastating fashion.  While most critics and members from Cotto’s team nullify the idea that Cotto can’t handle speed, I concur only to a certain extent.  Cotto can handle hand speed, but he’s never faced someone who has foot speed like Pacquiao.  In my honest opinion, Cotto is practically tailor made for Pacquiao and won’t last long in this bout if he allows Pacquiao to dictate the pace of the fight.  While I may sound biased, the following are the keys to victory for both fighters.

Pacquiao:

Stay in the middle of the ring and avoid the ropes and corners at all costs.  Set the pace of the fight and don’t allow Cotto to breathe.  Attack relentlessly but cautiously.  Be the bully and show that size does not matter.  Do not get into a brawl.

Cotto:

Be the bully and do not become a counter-puncher.  Throw punches in higher volume.  Tighten your defense, that triangle guard will not hold up against Pacquiao who sets up his combinations with his straight left which you are very susceptible to.  Pray.

Prediction: Manny Pacquiao by KO in round 6

Polls are now open! Lock in your votes!

Firepower: Pacquiao vs. Cotto Predictions

  • Pacquiao wins by KO (86%, 49 Votes)
  • Pacquiao wins by Decision (11%, 6 Votes)
  • Cotto wins by KO (5%, 3 Votes)
  • Cotto wins by Decision (0%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 57

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Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, Xbox360)

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As crazy and intense as it can get, there is something relaxing about the purity of boxing. The cleanliness and rhythm of movement combined with the devastating crushing force of the strikes is something unmatched in any other sport. EA’s Fight Night Round 4 manages to capture all of these elements perfectly.

GRAPHICS 10/10

I tried to nitpick the graphics, but they are too beautiful to find fault with. Character models look identical to their real life counterparts.  Fighters bleed and sweat with realism as they pound out each round. The game truly shines with a solid 1080 p HD setup, as the little details just pop out of the screen. Everything from what people in the audience are wearing to the welt forming on a fighter’s cheek all come alive through the game’s crisp graphics.  This is one of, if not THE best looking games I have ever seen.

SOUND 9/10

The sound is just as great as the graphics. If you have a surround system you will feel like you are at the arena watching a fight. All of the effects are spot on. You can hear the impact as punches connect, similarly you can hear and feel the loud thud as shots are blocked and parried. The only thing that detracts from the game’s audio is the commentary.  While at first the authentic commentary from Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas seems refreshing, after a few fights they start to repeat a lot of their phrases. Sometimes the commmentary just gets a bit lazy to the point that you’ll hear priceless comments like “He needs to jab” or “He should  dodge punches” while they never take the time to clarify exactly who “he” is. The rest of the audio is excellent and chances are you’ll be too immersed in throwing down that you’ll rarely notice the flaws in the commentary.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

The game uses what they refer to as Total Punch Control (TPC) which is a glorified name for “use the right thumbstick to punch.” FNR4 does not give players the option to use face buttons to control punches, as they did in previous games. In the other Fight Nights, I used the button control scheme but the TPC is surprisingly easy to adapt to. This control set up really works well for this game. Once you begin to master it, it is perhaps one of the most rewarding control schemes in a fighting or sports game around.  There is nothing better than being able to slip your opponents punches while peppering them with well placed shots of your own.

While mashers and spammers will always be able to land lucky punches, the game really seems to reward skill over random punches. Greater damage is rewarded to players who can block and counter their opponent’s punches as opposed to simply slugging it out toe to toe. In fact, a solid block and counter can often change the tide of a fight, resulting in a flash knockdown if timed correctly. There were a few times where I would be dominating a fight and would wind up getting cocky and charging in wrecklessly only to find myself on the business end of a countering hook, leaving me to pick myself up off of the canvas. While the game may be a bit difficult, you always know how you got KTFO. Everytime I lost a fight, it was a result of a mistake on my part and not some cheapness by the computer. Overall the control system works perfectly and is very tight and responsive. In my opinion, the control scheme is definitely one of the most appealing aspects of the entire game.

REPLAYABILITY 9/10

The game features online modes in which you can challenge other boxers via PSN or Xbox Live. I have the PS3 version and was expecting crappy online play, however the online play is surprisingly smooth. I experienced a few instances of lag, but overall nothing game breaking. 

Adding to the replay value is Legacy Mode, which is the game’s version of a career mode. In this mode you can either create a fighter or take an existing fighter and guide them up through the ranks of their respective weightclass. This mode is excellent, as you begin duking it out in run down gyms as an amateur and then eventually work your way up to the bigger shows like Atlantic City. The training modes and menus were very streamlined and much more user friendly than those found in UFC:Undisputed. Between online play, Legacy Mode, and Fight Now, which allows you to matchp any 2 boxers on the roster, the game has plenty of quality content to keep people busy for a while.

OVERALL 9/10

Perhaps I’m a bit biased since I am a huge boxing fan.  I feel this game delivers in every aspect. I am sure it will see a lot of comparisons to UFC:Undisputed as they are both “fighting” games, but there is really nothing similar at all between the two games. This game manages to capture all of the good aspects of professional boxing, while making it surprisingly acccessible to players of all levels. If there is one thing I admire in games, it is polish. Not surprisingly, this game is polished through and through and the attention to detail is just staggering. The huge roster of fighters is impressive, although there are some obvious absences that will hopefully be filled in at a later date through downloadable content. FNR4 is my new favorite game, which is saying A LOT, and I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a solid boxing experience.

Entertainment Wrap #11

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This week officially kicks off the summer blockbuster season with the long anticipated release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Other movies coming out this week are: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Terra, and The Limits of Control.  I’m excited for the release of Wolverine and I should have a review up soon. I’m a huge x-men fan, but I hated X3 and hope that this latest movie can redeem the franchise.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a take on the classic Christmas Carol formula, however this time around Scrooge is replaced by a womanizing Matthew McConnaghey who, with the help of 3 ghosts, is forced to revisit his dating past. The film also stars Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas.  As corny as the premise may sound, it looks like it might actually be pretty entertaining.

Terra is a computer animated movie about a roving group of space humans looking for a new planet to settle on. This is a relatively low key release here in the US.  I’ve heard that the animation is top notch in this film and that the storyline is a bit similar to Wall-E. I love animation but didn’t really care too much for Wall-E so this will be a rental if anything for me.

The Limits of Control is the newest film from abstract director Jim Jarmusch. I can’t really tell you what the film is about. I doubt I would be able to even after watching it as Jarmusch’s style often leaves many ends wide open. I can appreciate the artistry of his direction, but his pacing is a bit too slow and plodding for my tastes.  If you like interesting movies that are extremely slow and not really headed anywhere, this film should be perfect for you.

DVD

There are quite a few new DVD releases this week. Out now we have: What Doesn’t Kill you, Nothing But the Truth, Bride Wars, Hotel for Dogs, and The Uninvited.  What Doesn’t Kill You is a crime drama set in South Boston.  I haven’t seen it yet, but I normally enjoy these types of films so I really want to check this one out.  Nothing But the Truth is loosely based on what happened a few years ago when a reporter exposed the identity of an undercover CIA agent and wound up placing the agent’s life in jeopardy.  It has a great cast featuring Matt Dillon, Kate Beckinsale, Angela Bassett, and Vera Farmiga.

Bride Wars is a movie about childhood best friends who want nothing more than to get married. When the time finally comes and a scheduling error results in both of their weddings being scheduled on the same day, conflict ensues as to who gets to keep the date.  I won’t spoil anything but if you’ve seen the previews, you pretty much know almost everything that is going to happen in this movie.

Hotel for Dogs is about a hotel….for dogs. That’s about all I know about this one, but kids really seem to like this movie. My son who is super picky when it comes to kids movies was watching this one with some friends and they were having a blast.

The Uninvited is a remake of a Korean horror flick (whose name I can;t remember now and am too lazy to google).  Its the story of two teenage girls whose mother just passed away and their father has since started a relationship with the young nurse who used to care for his wife. Strange and freaky events start occurring throughout the house. This is actually a decent remake of a realy good film. I should have a review for this one up pretty soon.

GAMING

The gaming drought continues on for yet another week. One thing worth mentioning was the release of the UFC:Undisputed demo. This game is a lot of fun, and surprisingly deep in the control department. Although the demo limits you to playing as either Chuck Liddell or Mauricio Shogun Rua, the full game boasts the entire UFC roster.This will definitely be one to watch for when it drops on May 19.

BOXING

Manny Pacquiao is set to take on British boxer Ricky Hatton. This one has fireworks written all over it, as Hatton loves to get in the pocket and bang. As solid as hatton may be, he doesn’t have the visciousness of Pacquiao and I don’t think he can hang with him for the entire fight. One thing is for sure and that is that one of these fighters will fall and I predict it will be Hatton.  he may survive till the later rounds, but Pacquiao is going to prove to be way too much for him to handle.

Thats the week in entertainment and thats a wrap.