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Firepower
Date	November 14, 2009
Venue	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBO welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer
Boxer	Miguel Cotto
Nickname	"Junito"
Hometown	Caguas, Puerto Rico
Pre-fight record	34–1 (27 KO)
Age	29 years
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg)
Style	Orthodox
Recognition	WBO; Welterweight Champion; The Ring; No. 3 Ranked Welterweight; The Ring No. 7 ranked pound-for-pound fighter; 2-division world champion
Result
	Pacquiao wins via 12th-round TKO

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto, billed as Firepower, was a boxing match for the WBO welterweight championship.^[1] The bout was held on November 14, 2009, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Pacquiao won the fight via technical knockout in the twelfth round.

Background

The fight was sanctioned as a world title fight in the welterweight division, where the weight limit is 147 pounds, however Cotto's camp agreed to fight at a catchweight of 145 pounds to accommodate Pacquiao's smaller physique. Cotto's camp also conceded the larger share of the purse to Pacquiao, who received a 65% share of pay-per-view buys, compared to Cotto's 35% share.^[2]

The fight

Rounds 1–8

In the opening round both fighters were tentative, although Cotto appeared to have the edge, as he connected with several solid jabs that arguably won him the round.^[3] However, from the second round onwards Pacquiao picked up the pace, as he knocked Cotto down in round three with a right hook, and then again in round four with a left uppercut.^[3] In round five Cotto mounted a brief comeback and arguably won the round, but thereafter Pacquiao went on to dominate the fight.^[3] Cotto had some success when he managed to pin Pacquiao against the ropes, although Pacquiao later admitted that he had allowed this to happen, as he wanted to test Cotto's power.^[4]

Rounds 9–12

After a one-sided ninth round in favor of Pacquiao, wherein Cotto received significant punishment, many people thought that Cotto's corner should have stopped the fight.^[5] At this point, Cotto's wife even left the arena.^[6] However, a bloodied up Cotto decided to continue the fight, but he could not evade Pacquiao's onslaught, prompting the referee to stop the fight fifty-five seconds into the twelfth round.^[7] Pacquiao was ahead on all three judges' scorecards before the stoppage, which read 109–99, 108–99, and 108–100, all in favor of Pacquiao.

Punch stats

Total punches: Pacquiao landed 336 out of 780 (43%), whereas Cotto landed 172 out of 597 (29%).^[1]
Total jabs: Pacquiao landed 60 out of 220 (27%), whereas Cotto landed 79 out of 297 (27%).^[1]
Total power punches: Pacquiao landed 276 out of 560 (49%), whereas Cotto landed 93 out of 300(31%).^[1]

Aftermath

With this victory, Pacquiao took the WBO world welterweight title (his seventh world championship), to become the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions.^[7]^[8] Pacquiao also won the special WBC Diamond Belt.^[9] After the fight, promoter Bob Arum stated: "Pacquiao is the greatest boxer I've ever seen, and I've seen them all, including Ali, Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard."^[10] Meanwhile, Cotto was taken to a hospital as a precaution.^[7]

The fight generated 1.25 million buys and 70 million dollars in domestic pay-per-view revenue, making it the most watched boxing event of 2009.^[11] Pacquiao earned around 22 million dollars for his part in the fight, whilst Cotto earned around 12 million dollars.^[11] Pacquiao–Cotto also generated a live gate of $8,847,550 from an official crowd of 15,930.^[11]

Pacquiao's victory sparked a media frenzy, concerning his latest achievement against Cotto,^[12] and a potential match-up with Floyd Mayweather Jr.^[13]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:^[14]

Televised

Middleweight bout: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Troy Rowland

Chavez Jr. defeated Rowland via unanimous decision (97–93, 98–92, 99–91).^[15]

WBA Super Welterweight Championship bout: Yuri Foreman vs. Daniel Santos

Foreman defeated Santos via unanimous decision (117–109, 117–109, 116–110) to win the WBA world super welterweight title.^[15]

Welterweight bout: Alfonso Gomez vs. Jesus Soto Karass

Gomez defeated Soto Karass via technical decision (58–54, 57–55, 57–55) to win the vacant WBC Continental Americas welterweight title. The fight was stopped at 2:41 of round six, due to a cut on Gomez caused by an accidental headbutt.^[15]

Untelevised

Super Welterweight bout: Rodrigo García vs. Martin Vierra

Vierra defeated Garcia via unanimous decision (40–36, 40–36, 40–36).^[16]

Bantamweight bout: Eden Sonsona vs. Eilon Kedem

Sonsona defeated Kedem via technical knockout in the second round.^[16]

Middleweight bout: Matt Korobov vs. James Winchester

Korobov defeated Winchester via unanimous decision (60–54, 60–54, 60–54).^[16]

Flyweight bout: Richie Mepranum vs. Ernie Marquez

Mepranum defeated Marquez via split decision (56–57, 57–56, 58–55).^[16]

Lightweight bout: Abner Cotto vs. Guadalupe Guzman

Cotto defeated Guzman via unanimous decision (60–54, 60–54, 59–55).^[16]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
Australia	Main Event
Philippines	Solar Sports (Pay, live)
Philippines	GMA Network and C/S 9 (Terrestrial, delayed)
Canada	Viewers Choice
Hungary	Sport 1
Poland	Polsat Sport
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
United States	HBO

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d BoxRec, Miguel Angel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao
^ "Pacquiao-Cotto duel whets fight fans' appetite for action". GMANews.TV. 22 July 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c Natividad, Ivan (14 November 2009). "Pacquiao-Cotto Round By Round Coverage". AsianWeek. Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
^ Ochoa, Francis T.J. (16 November 2009). "'Greatest fighter of era' is Filipino". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
^ Willis, George (15 November 2009). "Pacquiao bloodies Cotto to affirm dominance". New York Post.
^ Perez, Jonathan (15 November 2009). "Pacquiao secures a very merry Christmas for Pinoys". GMANews.TV.
^ ^a ^b ^c Velin, Bob (16 November 2009). "Pacquiao batters, bloodies Cotto for 12th round TKO". USA Today.
^ Dizon, David (15 November 2009). "Pacquiao wins 7th world title". ABS-CBN News.
^ Leprozo, Dave (18 November 2009). "Pacquiao win inspires Baguio City's young boxers". GMANews.TV.
^ Davies, Gareth A (16 November 2009). "Manny Pacquiao fight would be easy, says Floyd Mayweather". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rafael, Dan (20 November 2009). "Pacquiao-Cotto tops Mayweather in PPV". ESPN.
^ Kriegel, Mark (17 November 2009). "Win vs. Cotto puts Pacquiao among all-time greats". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009.
^ Anderson, David (18 November 2009). "Why the Mayweather – Pacquiao fight must happen for the sake of boxing". Daily Mirror.
^ "BoxRec - event".
^ ^a ^b ^c Satterfield, Lem (14 November 2009). "Pacquiao vs. Cotto Results: Live Updates of Undercard and Main Event". Boxing Fanhouse.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hale, Andreas; Salazar, Francisco (14 November 2009). "Legacy sealed". Fightnews.

External links

The full fight on YouTube, uploaded by Top Rank

Preceded by vs. Joshua Clottey	Miguel Cotto's bouts November 14, 2009	Succeeded by vs. Yuri Foreman
Preceded by vs. Ricky Hatton	Manny Pacquiao's bouts November 14, 2009	Succeeded by vs. Joshua Clottey