Pacquiao shows greatness in small package
Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao had a hat perched jauntily on his head  a bandage wrapped neatly around his right ear. His real work done for the night  he was heading down the Las Vegas Strip to sing a few songs with his band.
 "Of course  you have to buy tickets for the concert " Pacquiao said.
 Not a problem. Anyone who watched Pacquiao cement his place in boxing lore Saturday night by giving Miguel Cotto a terrible beating would have gladly paid a few more dollars to see him in action again  even if it was with a microphone in his hands.
Anyone who watched Pacquiao cement his place in boxing lore Saturday night by giving Miguel Cotto a terrible beating would have gladly paid a few more dollars to see him in action again  even if it was with a microphone in his hands.
 Across an ocean  a grateful country celebrated the kind of hero they never dreamed possible. For a few brief hours the devastation of a typhoon was forgotten  and even the Filipino army took a break from chasing rebels to cheer Pacquiao on.
 They used to have him as their own. Not many people outside the Philippines paid much attention to the little fighter with the big hands even as he kept moving up in weight over the years and winning belts by the handful along the way.
 But now they're going to have to share Manny Pacquiao. Greatness comes with a price  and it's hard to argue that Pacquiao hasn't now earned a spot among boxing's greats.
 Maybe not Muhammad Ali great  as promoter Bob Arum was trying to claim when he said Pacquiao was better than any fighter he ever promoted  including Ali. But it's Arum's job to build Pacquiao up  especially with negotiations for a possible megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. expected to begin this week.
 Still  no fighter had ever won titles in seven different weight classes  even in an era where titles are as common as platinum blondes in the MGM Grand casino. And no fighter in recent times has had the kind of year Pacquiao wrapped up by stopping a game but outclassed Cotto 55 seconds into the 12th round of their welterweight title fight.
 He leaped into the global boxing consciousness 11 months ago by making Oscar De La Hoya quit  giving him such a beating that he retired. He followed that by knocking Ricky Hatton stiff in the second round with a left hand that left Hatton contemplating his mortality.
 And then came Saturday night  when he put on six more pounds to fight the supposedly bigger and harder punching Cotto. It looked early as if it may have been a mistake  with Cotto controlling the action in the first round with a sharp jab and accurate punches.
 Bad advice. Less than a minute into the third round  it was a right hand from Pacquiao that put Cotto down for the first time. He was up quickly and the two continued battling at a frenzied pace late into the fourth round when Pacquiao threw a huge left hand as Cotto was moving forward and dropped him for the second time.
 Cotto was never the same after that and Pacquiao was relentless in administering a beating that sent blood flowing down Cotto's face  staining his white trunks. By the ninth round he was taking such punishment that his wife and young son got up from their ringside seats and left the arena  unable to watch any further.
 Once again  Pacquiao had not just beaten a world class fighter  but systematically dismantled him. He did it in his usual -- and very unusual -- style  bouncing in and out and throwing punches from all angles in a frenetic style never before seen in boxing.
 When it was all over  Pacquiao had another belt and his large entourage probably had a few more members. Cotto had inflicted some damage of his own  marking up Pacquiao's face and causing his right ear to require a bandage  but Pacquiao wasn't going to miss his own party.
[TGT] had a hat perched jauntily on [TGT] head  a bandage wrapped neatly around [TGT] right ear. [TGT] real work done for the night  [TGT] was heading down the Las Vegas Strip to sing a few songs with [TGT] band.
 "Of course  you have to buy tickets for the concert [TGT] said.
 Not a problem. Anyone who watched [TGT] cement his place in boxing lore Saturday night by giving Miguel Cotto a terrible beating would have gladly paid a few more dollars to see him in action again  even if it was with a microphone in his hands.
Anyone who watched [TGT] cement his place in boxing lore Saturday night by giving Miguel Cotto a terrible beating would have gladly paid a few more dollars to see him in action again  even if it was with a microphone in his hands.
 Across an ocean  a grateful country celebrated the kind of hero they never dreamed possible. For a few brief hours the devastation of a typhoon was forgotten  and even the Filipino army took a break from chasing rebels to cheer [TGT] on.
 They used to have [TGT] as their own. Not many people outside the Philippines paid much attention to the little fighter with the big hands even as [TGT] kept moving up in weight over the years and winning belts by the handful along the way.
 But now they're going to have to share [TGT]. Greatness comes with a price  and it's hard to argue that [TGT] hasn't now earned a spot among boxing's greats.
 Maybe not Muhammad Ali great  as promoter Bob Arum was trying to claim when he said [TGT] was better than any fighter he ever promoted  including Ali. But it's Arum's job to build [TGT] up  especially with negotiations for a possible megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. expected to begin this week.
 Still  no fighter had ever won titles in seven different weight classes  even in an era where titles are as common as platinum blondes in the MGM Grand casino. And no fighter in recent times has had the kind of year [TGT] wrapped up by stopping a game but outclassed Cotto 55 seconds into the 12th round of their welterweight title fight.
 [TGT] leaped into the global boxing consciousness 11 months ago by making Oscar De La Hoya quit  giving [TGT] such a beating that [TGT] retired. [TGT] followed that by knocking Ricky Hatton stiff in the second round with a left hand that left Hatton contemplating [TGT] mortality.
 And then came Saturday night  when [TGT] put on six more pounds to fight the supposedly bigger and harder punching Cotto. It looked early as if it may have been a mistake  with Cotto controlling the action in the first round with a sharp jab and accurate punches.
 Bad advice. Less than a minute into the third round  it was a right hand from [TGT] that put Cotto down for the first time. He was up quickly and the two continued battling at a frenzied pace late into the fourth round when [TGT] threw a huge left hand as Cotto was moving forward and dropped him for the second time.
 Cotto was never the same after that and [TGT] was relentless in administering a beating that sent blood flowing down Cotto's face  staining his white trunks. By the ninth round he was taking such punishment that his wife and young son got up from their ringside seats and left the arena  unable to watch any further.
 Once again  [TGT] had not just beaten a world class fighter  but systematically dismantled him. He did it in his usual -- and very unusual -- style  bouncing in and out and throwing punches from all angles in a frenetic style never before seen in boxing.
 When it was all over  [TGT] had another belt and [TGT] large entourage probably had a few more members. Cotto had inflicted some damage of his own  marking up [TGT]'s face and causing his right ear to require a bandage  but [TGT] wasn't going to miss his own party.