If Miguel Cotto's shot, Manny Pacquiao will let us know

For all the talk we've done here about the November 14 encounter between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, I've done my absolute best to stay way away from the "Miguel Cotto is a changed fighter" talk, and certainly haven't touched the "Miguel Cotto is shot" talk. The former may be true in some respects, and I personally feel that the latter is foolish. I've said repeatedly that those underestimating Cotto are way too quick to count out the Puerto Rican warrior, who won a good, hard and close fight against Joshua Clottey in June.

But I will say this, as I've certainly been wrong before and undoubtedly will be again: If Miguel Cotto is a reeling fighter, then Manny Pacquiao is exactly the guy to cement that idea.

After all, Pacquiao has a pretty strong record of putting the finishing touches, so to speak, on great careers. No less than four superstar fighters have essentially been put out to pasture by the Filipino icon this decade.

The first of the four was Mexico's Erik Morales, Pacquiao's second-greatest rival and one of the most gutsy, courageous fighters of his generation. When we say someone "fights like a Mexican," Morales is exactly the type of guy who employed the style we're talking about. He had boxing skills, but he was easily drawn into firefights. In their first bout back in 2005, Morales beat Pacquiao (115-113 across the board) with a phenomenal performance. It was also the last "real" Erik Morales performance we'd ever see.

In his next fight, Morales was stunned by Zahir Raheem, losing a 12-round decision, and then he rematched Pacquiao. This time, it was the younger, stronger Pacquiao that really gut-checked Morales, eventually stopping him in the 10th round. It was a hell of a fight, just as their first bout had been, but it was clear who the better man was, too. They fought once more in November 2006, with Pacquiao completely dominating and overwhelming Morales, winning by third round TKO.

The second man was Morales' greatest rival, Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao fought Barrera in 2003, coming in as a pretty heavy underdog for most, a fairly one-dimensional slugger with good speed and an awkward southpaw style. He was a one-handed fighter at the time. And that night, he tore Barrera to pieces before the Mexican's corner mercifully stopped the bout in the 11th round.

Morales fought once more, moving up to lightweight and losing a competitive scrap to David Diaz. He now intends to come back, but his relevant career is almost certainly finished.

In 2007, Pacquiao and Barrera fought again, and this time Barrera was the heavy underdog. He was coming off of a loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, a fight that was far closer than it was scored, but Pacquiao-Barrera II just never sizzled. It failed to truly captivate the interest of the fans, as the obvious true desire was for Pacquiao-Marquez II. Barrera also announced prior to the fight that it would be his last, and come fight night, he fought like a man simply there to earn one more good paycheck and not get himself embarrassed or knocked out. He lost a wide decision, fighting tentatively until swiping Pacquiao with a blatant cheap shot late in the fight.

Barrera, of course, also came back from retirement, making an ill-advised move to 135 pounds. It has not gone well, and his career, too, is now simply active instead of relevant.

Source: BadLeftHook.com