Tag Archives: Manny Pacquiao

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.

Its Over : Pacquiao destroys Hatton

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One of the most anticipated fights of the year, became one of the most lopsided victories for Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao with a dominating performance against Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada. With a little under two rounds Pacquiao was able to defeat Hatton with a devastating left hook which left Hatton on the canvas for several minutes.

To be honest with everyone, there really is nothing Pacquiao cannot do. Hatton came in as the aggressor and left as the loser with Pacquiao picking his shots and landing his punches at will. After Hatton went down in the first, you could see that Pacquiao smelt blood.

I hope Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ready to bang because we all have witnessed who many already consider the greatest pound for pound fighter of his time, just rip through what many thought would be he toughest opponent yet. Is Manny Pacquiao the greatest boxer the world has ever seen? I guess only time will tell. One thing I do know is, the fans everywhere are going nuts rights now and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should consider making May 3rd a new holiday! haha.