The Undeniable Best

One of our favorite things to do in sports is debate which athlete or team is the best in their given sport. Before tonight there were two athletes, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, for which there is no argument against. Tonight, in Las Vegas, a third joined the club. That man in Manny Pacquiao. In front of a sold out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Pacquiao systematically destroyed the bigger, and thought to be stronger, Miguel Cotto. Cotto came out of the gates fast landing multiple jabs that snapped Pacquiao's head back, but none of his power shots slowed Manny down at all. Many in boxing though that Cotto would prove to be too big and too powerful for Pacquiao to dominate the way he did against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. They could not have been more wrong. From the beginning Pacquiao was able to shake off everything Cotto threw his way and counter with his blinding speed and power. He knocked Cotto to the mat in the third and fourth rounds, and the fight was over from there. The only drama left was to see how long Cotto could stand and take the repeated punishment. At times, Pacquiao almost looked hesitant to continue pummeling Cotto. The fight likely should have been stopped by Cotto's corner much earlier. Eventually, in the twelfth round, the referee had to step in as it was clear Cotto could no longer defend himself. Pacquiao now takes home a belt in a remarkable seventh weight class. With this victory, it is clear that Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world today. The only question is who's next. The biggest money, and most popular, fight would be against Floyd Mayweather Jr. From a pure boxing standpoint, Mayweather wants no part of Pacquiao. They don't call him Floyd "Money" Mayweather for no reason though. Ultimately, Floyd will take the fight and the enormous payday. Mayweather has never faced a fighter with the speed and power of Pacquiao and I don't think his defensive style would hold up. Let's just hope the ridiculous world of boxing can finally get one thing right and make this fight happen.