Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...
vs.
Miguel Cotto
Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
, billed as ''Firepower'', was a
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
match for the
WBO welterweight championship. The bout was held on November 14, 2009, at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sporting events
From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...
, in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Pacquiao won the fight via
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...
in the twelfth round.
Negotiations
The fight was sanctioned as a world title fight in the welterweight division, where the weight limit is 147 pounds, however Cotto's camp agreed to fight at a
catchweight
A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...
of 145 pounds to accommodate Pacquiao's smaller physique. Cotto's camp also conceded the larger share of the purse to Pacquiao, who received a 65% share of
pay-per-view buys, compared to Cotto's 35% share.
The fight
Rounds 1–8
In the opening round both fighters were tentative, although Cotto appeared to have the edge, as he connected with several solid jabs that arguably won him the round.
However, from the second round onwards Pacquiao picked up the pace, as he knocked Cotto down in round three with a right hook, and then again in round four with a left uppercut.
In round five Cotto mounted a brief comeback and arguably won the round, but thereafter Pacquiao went on to dominate the fight.
Cotto had some success when he managed to pin Pacquiao against the ropes, although Pacquiao later admitted that he had allowed this to happen, as he wanted to test Cotto's power.
Rounds 9–12
After a one-sided ninth round in favor of Pacquiao, wherein Cotto received significant punishment, many people thought that Cotto's corner should have stopped the fight. At this point, Cotto's wife even left the arena. However, a bloodied up Cotto decided to continue the fight, but he could not evade Pacquiao's onslaught, prompting the referee to stop the fight fifty-five seconds into the twelfth round.
Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, which read 109–99, 108–99, and 108–100, all in favor of Pacquiao.
[BoxRec, Miguel Angel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao](_blank)
/ref>
Punch stats
*Total punches: Pacquiao landed 336 out of 780 (43%), whereas Cotto landed 172 out of 597 (29%).
Aftermath
With this victory, Pacquiao took the WBO World welterweight title (his seventh world championship), to become the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions.Bob Arum
Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...
stated: "Pacquiao is the greatest boxer I've ever seen, and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard." Meanwhile, Cotto was taken to a hospital as a precaution.Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
Maincard
Televised
*Middleweight bout: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to:
*Julio (given name)
*Julio (surname)
*Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...
vs. Troy Rowland
:Chavez Jr. defeated Rowland via unanimous decision (97–93, 98–92, 99–91).Yuri Foreman
Yuri Foreman (born August 5, 1980) is an Israeli professional boxer who held the WBA super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010. He was born in Gomel, Belarus, but currently fights out of Brooklyn, New York. Foreman has also pursued Jewish reli ...
vs. Daniel Santos
:Foreman defeated Santos via unanimous decision (117–109, 117–109, 116–110) to win the WBA World super welterweight title.Jesus Soto Karass
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
:Gomez defeated Soto Karass via technical decision (58–54, 57–55, 57–55) to win the vacant WBC Continental Americas welterweight title. The fight was stopped at 2:41 of round six, due to a cut on Gomez caused by an accidental headbutt.
Untelevised
*Super Welterweight bout: Rodrigo García vs. Martin Vierra
: Garcia defeated Vierra via unanimous decision (40–36, 40–36, 40–36).Richie Mepranum
Richie Mepranum (born May 5, 1987) is a Filipino professional boxer and current WBO Oriental flyweight champion.
Fighting style
A fine boxer and a skilled counter-puncher, Mepranum is considered one of the Philippines' best kept secrets.
Pro ...
vs. Ernie Marquez
:Mepranum defeated Marquez via split decision (56–57, 57–56, 58–55).Abner Cotto
Abner Cotto Román (born August 10, 1987) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who currently competes in the lightweight division. He is a member of the Cotto family, which has produced a professional world champion and multiple amateur ...
vs. Guadalupe Guzman
:Cotto defeated Guzman via unanimous decision (60–54, 60–54, 59–55).
References
External links
* , uploaded by Top Rank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacquiao, Cotto
Cotto
2009 in boxing
Boxing in Las Vegas
2009 in sports in Nevada
November 2009 sports events in the United States
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Boxing on HBO