Miguel Cotto Will Lose to Manny Pacquiaos Southpaw Style

As great a warrior as Miguel Cotto has proven to be over his boxing career the upcoming fight will prove that styles more than opponents make fights. Weight has been the match maker when the impossibility of defeating Manny Pacquiao has taken center stage. Cotto is naturally heavier and physically bigger, a fact that has not stopped Pacquiao in his past bouts. The facts are that Miguel Cotto has problems with southpaws even though he has never been defeated by one in his previous fights.

Going back to the Demarcus Corley fight one observation is that Cotto was consistently able to maintain his defense and protection from the Corley left and avoid the right hook for most of the fight. However when either of those punches landed Cotto was rocked and showed the effects immediately. Demarcus Corley is not the puncher that Manny Pacquiao has proven to be at many different weight classes. The same pattern has followed for Cotto in bouts with Carlos Quintana and Jab Judah who are both southpaws. Cottos ability to take a punch is reflected in his physical features but the Antonio Margarito fight in which he took a savage beating has led many to believe that he is not the same fighter he once was.

Throughout the history of boxing the southpaw has been an oddity and in the past was the key to avoidance by many fighters. Coming from the opposite stance the traditional training of most fighters is completely reversed. Many southpaw fighters are turned around to lead with their left hand which is considered the correct stance. Consequently many fighters never faced a southpaw. In that regard Manny Pacquiao has an advantage but it is minimal in light of the boxers of today.  Marvin Hagler, Pernell Whitaker and Antonio Tarver are but a few of the southpaw champions in recent history. Michael Moorer heavyweight champion was decisively winning his heavyweight championship fight with George Foreman until the startling knockout in the later rounds.

The difference that makes Pacquiao superior is the power in his left hand and devastating right hook. It was a combination of those punches and one devastating shot in the second round that turned the lights out for Ricky Hatton. The speed and power behind the punch caught Hatton coming forward in his usual aggressive style. But Pacquiao is not a flat footed fighter. Maybe one of the few fighters that is constantly on his toes. In addition to hand speed his foot speed is difficult to determine if he is moving lateral or coming directly toward his opponent. With the southpaw stance and combination of speed and power he is justly considered pound for pound the best fighter in the world.

With Floyd Mayweather Jr waiting for the outcome of the fight with Cotto the boxing world has a lot to look forward to in the first quarter of 2010. Recent remarks by Freddie Roach who many believe to be the best trainer in boxing give Cotto no chance of defeating Pacquiao who Roach believes is susceptible to southpaw fighters.