Pacquiao Wins Welterweight Title - Stops Cotto in 12th

Manny PacquiaoManny Pacquiao taught Miguel CottoMiguel Cotto several important lessons Saturday night in front of a huge and boisterous crowd.

In an attempt to capture an unprecedented seventh world division title in seven different weight classes, Pacquiao unfolded his lesson plan on the former WBO Welterweight Champion in the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, patiently.

First, he instructed the 29-year-old Cotto that as the pound-for-pound king he can dominate a natural welterweight that outweighed by some 10 pounds at fight time in an even-handed manner.

Pacquiao scored victories in 11 of the 12 rounds on all judges score cards before he TKO’d Cotto 55 seconds into the 12th.

Next, the Filipino showed Cotto that this was not simply a bout of Pacquiao’s speed against Cotto’s power. Pacquiao dropped Cotto twice during the middle rounds and sliced the Puerto Rican’s profile like a surgeon.

"Our plan was not to hurry but to take our time," Pacquiao said after the fight. "We didn't panic. We just needed time to test his power. As the fight went on, I was looking for a one-shot knockout."

Compubox scores showed that the 30-year-old Pacquiao dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting with 336 of 780 punches thrown to 172 of 597 for Cotto. Pacman also landed 276 power punches compared to Cotto's 93.

Then, Pacquiao translated his version of heart. Although Cotto has demonstrated a quiet reserved and respectful nature building up to ‘Firepower’ match, Pacquiao underscored how his every move had been harnessed by the love he shares with his fans and countrymen.

"This is the last weight division for me," Pacquiao said. "It's history for me and more importantly a Filipino did it."

Lastly, Pacquiao demonstrated the art of Las Vegas magic, showing making thing appear that weren’t there milliseconds ago.

"I didn't know from where the punches were coming," the defeated Cotto said before being transferred to a local hospital for observation.

Pacquiao did not go away unscathed. He was heavily bandaged after the fight and showed marks, welts and swelling on his face.

Cotto suffered a cut above his eye and from his nose as Pacquiao’s barrage seemed relentless.

Pacquiao dropped Cotto in the third with a solid right and repeated the event in the fourth, dropping Cotto with a left.

Pacquiao’s record now stands at 50-3-2, while Cotto falls to 37-2.

Pacquiao now owns a record never before accomplished in the annuals of boxing. Of the seven titles he has collected, four have been undisputed.