Pacquiao's seventh heaven

Things just keep getting better for Manny Pacquiao, as he not only survived, but came out smelling like roses against a tough WBO welterweight champion yesterday. After a few scary moments early in the fight at the luxurious MGM Grand Garden Area in Las Vegas, Pacquiao literally knew he had the measure of Miguel Cotto. Covering the fight for The Filipino Channel with Atty. Ed Tolentino was new landmark, also, the first time that Filipinos could watch a world title fight of any kind anywhere they were in the world in their own language.

The first round was a test for both Cotto and Pacquiao. Cotto showed power, if not accuracy, early on. Pacquiao struggled a little finding range for his speedy bombs. But after that, Cotto would just occasionally pose danger to the Filipino champion.

In the third round, a two-punch combination from the Pacman timed perfectly with the bobbing of the Puerto Rican sent the champion onto his hands. Referee Kenny Bayless called it a knockdown. Pacquiao deviated from the fight plan, choosing to stand in front of Cotto to weigh the champion.

“I wanted to test his punches, to see if I could take it,” Pacquiao said after the fight.

In the fifth, an unquestionable knockdown sent Cotto to the canvas glassy-eyed. Pacquiao kept Cotto twirling around, coming at him from so many angles, the champ was confused. Cotto still got in a few dangerous left hooks and uppercuts, occasionally rocking Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, however, recovered quickly each time.

Gradually, a cut appeared under the right eye of Cotto, then another one started bleeding profusely on his right eyelid down his cheek.

Then his nose started bleeding. After that, he had trouble even drinking water, since blood was coming out of a cut inside his lower lip. Pacquiao had carved him up so badly, even his eyes started to swell until they became mere slits.

Still, Cotto kept on. Pacquiao occasionally standing in front of him with his forearms covering his face. Pacquiao kept moving close to Cotto, cutting the distance from Cotto’s left hook. Of course, Manny paid for it with a severely swollen right ear. It was not an easy fight.

“Cotto still had some power, but he couldn’t get his second wind because Pacquiao kept the pressure up relentlessly,” Tolentino elaborated. “After a while, Pacquiao knew he could take Cotto’s power. But Cotto couldn’t handle Pacquiao’s speed.”

There were times in the latter round when Pacquiao would throw combinations, and Cotto would not respond. But Bayless let the fight continue. After the eighth round, Cotto simply started backpedalling, hoping to avoid further harm. His face was already a bloody pulp. But, by the start of the last round, Pacquiao pinned him near the corner, and Bayless stepped in, along with the ring physician, to stop the carnage.

Filipinos in the Middle East and in Europe virtually had front-row seats to the fight. ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC) subscribers in the entire Middle East region and five countries in Europe, namely the UK, Italy, Greece, Germany and Spain, were able to watch the highly anticipated fight live from MGM Grand in Las Vegas via the channel’s pay-per-view service. To make the service more attuned to the needs of its Filipino audiences abroad, TFC producer ABS-CBN Global arranged for us to annotate the bout and its undercard in Tagalog.

ABS-CBN Global Philippine country manager Edson Aguiflor said “We are very pleased to be part of Philippine history wherein, through TFC, Filipinos in the Middle East and in Europe will be able to cheer for Manny who will once again unite the nation and show the world what we, Pinoys, are made of.”

Millions more were able to join Pacquiao in his seventh heaven.