Mayweather vs. Cotto Fight: Why Money's Win Proved He Would Dominate Pacquiao

After Floyd Mayweather successfully outpointed Miguel Cotto, there is little doubt that Mayweather would beat Manny Pacquaio.

Sure, the long-anticipated super fight would still be highly entertaining and the biggest draw that boxing could possibly make at this point. However, fans would be disappointed by the outcome—boxing's greatest villain is just too much to handle.

For years, it was suggested that if you could corner Mayweather, turn the fight into a brawl and hurt him, you had a chance. Cotto did all of those things as well as anyone, and Mayweather still won decisively.

For better or worse, Mayweather is the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

This isn't to say that Cotto and Pacquaio are on the same level—clearly, they aren't. Pacquaio has achieved much more in the sport and is clearly the second best boxer in the world. However, if Cotto couldn't even come close to giving Mayweather a run for his money while executing the perfect game plan to the best of his abilities, Pacquaio doesn't stand a great chance.

If you want to beat Mayweather, you must end the fight early. That became abundantly clear during the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight. Like any villain, you have to be certain he's dead, otherwise he'll just keep coming back. Mayweather's technical skill and counterpunching is just too much to outpoint over the length of a 12-round match.

Cotto should be commended for the success he had—he landed more clean shots on Mayweather than most. However, at the end of the night, he still lost on the cards by a wide margin.

If Mayweather and Pacquaio are ever able to put their differences aside and put on the fight of the century, we should expect more of the same.

Mayweather truly proved his greatness against Cotto.