Pacquiao Explodes, Vera Loses

In Las Vegas, Filipino pugilist Manny Pacquiao bagged his seventh divisional title—marking his name on boxing record books as the only boxer who did the said peat. He demolished the Puerto Rican bomber Miguel Cotto via a stoppage on the eleventh round. Referee Kenny Bayles stopped the fight so that Pacquiao will not inflict any more damages. Cotto suffered his second lost and his face was a really mess.

Cotto won the first round, scoring his hard jabs while Pacquiao is still hesitant but he stuck to his gameplan. On the second round, Pacquiao thought that he can endure Cotto’s jab and power and let Cotto taste his arsenal. Using his slick footwork and superb hand-speed, Pacquiao had his confidence. The pound-for-pound king scored an early knockdown on the third round with a right, bringin Cotto down and his gloves on the canvass. The Filipino gained more confidence. Pacquiao also knock Cotto down again in the fourth with a devastating left uppercut. Cotto’s really hurt, lost his composure and wobbly.

Pacquiao enjoyed the fight, scoring using his hand-speed. Cotto didn’t easily give up, he also scored some hard punches but Pacquiao’s speed and volume of punches prevailed. Cotto used his style—the run-and-hit me tactic to score his jabs but Manny didn’t bite it. He paused when Cotto tried to run and scored using his lateral movement. When Cotto cannot defend himself on the eleventh, Bayles interfered to stop the fight. It was the second stoppage of Cotto—first was when his face was massacred by Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao, who holds the precious stones and diamond-laced WBO Welterweight belt, is now 38-3-2 while Cotto suffered his second lost 31-2.

While on Manchester, England, Filipino-American Mixed-Martial Artist Brandon “the Truth” Vera was defeated by the legend of Octagon, Randy “the Natural” Couture. The two fighters knew each other because they trained to be members of USA National Wrestling team. Many fans, even the commentator Joe Rogan, said that the fight must be given to Vera. At the start of the fight, Vera let Couture taste what are on his arsenal. He hurt Couture but the former champ pushed him on the cage, using his old-style. Couture wanted to bring him down but Vera didn’t make it as easy as ABC. The referee re-started the action two times.

Vera was more aggressive on the second round, booes were heard from the crowd because Couture pushed Vera on the fence again. After another re-start, Vera landed a hard kick followed by a knee that put the former champ on the canvass. Vera tried to finish him but he regained his composure. Couture used his veteran moves against the younger opponent—pinning him on the fence and throwing short punches. He used his dirty boxing. Ref Goddard re-started the fighters and Vera scored some of his kicks, then Couture pinned him again on the fence—and did his stuff. Forty-five seconds left when Vera turned the tide, he took down Couture and got the dominant full mount position. Couture break free and the two exchanges flurry when the bout ended.

Vera suffered his 4th loss (11-4) while Randy Couture once again climbed the 105-lb ladder bagging his 17th win (17-10).

photos courtesy of AFP.com and UFC.com