No Holds Barred: A Different Kind of Pacquiao-Cotto Preview

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents a preview of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight title fight, which takes place Saturday, November 14, in Las Vegas, and will be televised around the world, including on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S.

This is a different kind of preview, however, from that offered almost everywhere else, in that we do not limit ourselves to the question of which fighter stands the best chance of winning this fight in the ring.

We open by noting the damage suffered by the sport of boxing as a whole by placing such major fights on pay-per-view. We play an excerpt of a media conference call held prior to the November 7 Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers mixed martial arts fight, which was telecast live in the U.S. on CBS and was viewed in 5.46 million households, with Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. He opined why boxing is no longer on network television in the U.S., and why MMA is.

We next play an excerpt from the November 8 edition of The Boxing Truth Radio, hosted by Ricardo Lois and John Chavez, where Eddie Goldman explained the global economic, political, and social factors which work in Pacquiao's favor. This type of analysis is essential to understanding the historical context in which this fight is taking place, and also what factors other than who deserves to win might play a role in the outcome of the fight.

In the longest segment on this edition of No Holds Barred, we discuss this fight with our correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. He is of the opinion that Cotto has the best chance of legitimately winning this fight. Cotto, he argues, unlike Pacquiao, is a true welterweight whose power and size should have him prevail. He also dismisses Pacquiao's dominant wins over Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya as victories over shot fighters, which the 28-year-old Cotto is far from being.

We discuss these views, as well as the opposing arguments which favor Pacquiao, regarding both his skills and power as a fighter and the advantages he has with the boxing establishment. While Charles is fairly certain that Cotto will win, Eddie is not, so various possible scenarios for this fight are outlined.

We also discuss what possible fights lie ahead for both men, including the likelihood of the winner facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and these next fights taking place in a major league baseball stadium. And we explain why we have no problem with people watching this fight for free online, even on so-called pirate streams. But we all agree that whichever fighter wins Saturday night, the real winner will be promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both men.

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