boxing

(Props: MMA Hits. Fight starts at the 9:06 mark.)

By now, you probably know that Manny Pacquiao dominated Miguel Cotto on Saturday night en route to a 12th-round TKO victory, becoming the first boxer to win world titles in seven different weight classes, and solidifying his position as best pound-for-pound pugilist on the planet. Cotto was as game as advertised, and kept the contest competitive early on. But the knockdowns that Pacquiao scored in the third round (right hook) and fourth round (left uppercut) turned the tide of the fight for good, and Cotto spent most of the remainder of the match playing defense.

Cotto's camp nearly threw in the towel after a demoralizing 11th frame, but the fight was allowed to continue to the last round, in which referee Kenny Bayless seized on the first opportunity to stop the fight; the official time was 0:55 of round 12. Immediately after the fight, the MGM Grand Garden Arena began to chant "We want Floyd!" Ah, but does Money Mayweather want Manny? The video is above; watch and be inspired.

(24/7 Pacquiao-Cotto, Episode 1. Props to HBO.)

Being obsessed with MMA doesn't mean we can't mark out for Manny Pacquiao once in a while. It's hard not to love the guy. He's a brilliant fighter who's somehow managed to stay humble, he has a lovely singing voice, and he's never publicly referred to our favorite sport as panty-wrestling porno for beer-drinkers. It's almost too bad that we'll be dutifully liveblogging UFC 105 tomorrow (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET/PT), because we're curious to see how Pac-Man does against WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto in their 145-pound contest at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. The Pacquiao/Cotto broadcast starts at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. on HBO PPV, so hopefully you live near a kickass sports bar that will be showing both fight cards at the same time. Check out the first installment of HBO's 24/7: Pacquiao-Cotto above; Pacquiao fans, show some love in the comments section below.

Yeah, we know.  You only like seeing dudes get knocked out when they're wearing little gloves.  But just give this one a chance and I think you'll be pleased.  5'10" stick of boxing dynamite David Tua stepped back in the ring for the first time in over two years recently, and after taking a minute or two to find his range against Shane Cameron, he exploded with the same old ferocity to end things just seven seconds into round number two.  Don't ask us to explain why the ref did everything he could think of to save Cameron at the end of the first, only so he could take more punishment as soon as the bell rang for the second.  Instead, just sit back and enjoy a different brand of violence for a change.  A little variety is good for you. 

It's good to see Tua back.  Now if only he could sharpen up his "Wheel of Fortune" skills. 

(Apologies for the pop-up. Video courtesy of MMALinker.)

Floyd Mayweather defeated Juan Manuel Marquez last night in a one-sided unanimous decision that saw Money control every round and score a knockdown in the second frame. Mayweather landed 290 of 493 (59%) of his punches, compared to Marquez's 69 of 583 (12%). At UFC 103 in Dallas, Dana White had the boxing match playing on a monitor near him. His verdict? "It sucked. It sucked just like I said it would and knew it would."

(Props: youtube.com/UFC)

"What made Floyd Mayweather a pay-per-view star was Oscar De La Hoya. I know Floyd can't sell tickets without Oscar but what's happening here is, boxing is doing it to you again. They're giving you the fight that you don't want. Nobody asked for this fight with, ah, with Mayweather and, ah, what's his name? What's his name? Nobody even knows, nobody in this room even knows who Floyd's fighting! I should know, I'm a big boxing guy and I respect the guy that he's fighting, I know his name but I can't think of it right now. But that's my point, nobody gives a shit! Boxing is trying to sell you the fight that nobody cares about. People wanna see Mayweather/Pacquiao. But they're not giving you that fight...

You show up to see Floyd Mayweather not fight. This guy will run around in circles. Everybody wants to know why the UFC is becoming so popular? It's because they're sick of boxers not fighting...basically you get to see 'Dancing With the Stars' again with Floyd Mayweather, except you have to pay for it this time...On that same night, on that UFC card, you guys can all tune in and you can watch not one fight, you guys can watch five great fights that night, for ten dollars less than what Floyd wants you to pay to see him run around in circles and lay on the ropes and move around and not fight."

Dana White may have muzzled his video blogs, but he won't hesitate to lay down some verbal bitchsmack recorded against a green-screen when the situation calls for it. And Floyd Mayweather's anti-MMA rhetoric has clearly gotten under his skin. Dana may have a point about Mayweather not setting up the matchup that fans want to see, but he should be careful about banging that drum too hard. After all, which fight did MMA fans ask for: Lesnar vs. Carwin or Lesnar vs. Fedor? When did we start clamoring for Franklin vs. Belfort? And by the way, Dana, Floyd's opponent is Juan Manuel Marquez, and he's fabulous.