1. Manny Pacquiao Will Knock Out Miguel Cotto: We saw Miguel Cotto's prime end July 26, 2008, the night Antonio Margarito's loaded/unloaded gloves turned Cotto's face into a Joseph Merrick AKA The Elephant Man recreation. Like the Fernando Vargas that fought on post-Trinidad, Cotto's best days are a distant memory. He nipped Joshua Clottey in a give-and-take battle that proved one thing beyond a reasonable doubt: Cotto's will to win is still insatiable. Against a force of nature like Pacquiao, the will to win can only take you so far. Just ask David Diaz.
For his part, Cotto is telling everybody that the Margarito bout has not adversely affected his psyche. Come Saturday evening, the proof will be in Cotto's performance.
For now, I say the ghost of Margarito will appear in the form of the smaller Philippine whirlwind.
2. The Undercard Stinks: When Julio Cesar Chavez Junior is the co-main event for the biggest fight of the calendar year, you have a problem. When the opponent is Troy Rowland, the problem is multiplied. Shame on Top Rank and Bob Arum, who promised a spectacular undercard.
When Arum appeared on Steve Kim's radio show, Kim asked Arum whether he had "delivered on the promise" to put together a suitable undercard.
Arum's response: "Okay, good talking to you, Steve." Interview over.
3. Pay-Per-View Buys Will be Through the Roof: The buzz for this bout has reached seismic proportions. Pacquiao is on the cover of Time Magazine's Asian Edition, ESPN will televise the weigh-in live and both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are covering the fight.
Look for Pacquiao-Cotto to approach the 1.4 million buys garnered by the 1999 De La Hoya-Trinidad superfight. Of course, in 1999, illegal cable hook-ups and black boxes were prominent. Regardless, 1.4 million buys is an impressive feat, a number this weekend's bout will exceed.
For a bout featuring two foreign-born fighters with less than bombastic personalities, that is remarkable. When you have two guys who promise to deliver action, the public will respond.
4. Floyd Mayweather Will Duck the Winner: Mayweather is still busy patting himself on the back for his decision victory against undersized Juan Manuel Marquez. Since the bout exceeded one million PPV buys, Mayweather will be content to collect massive paychecks against outgunned competition.
As for future Mayweather opponents, world-class Welterweights need not apply.
Is Chris John available?
5. Pacquiao Should Move Down to 140 After Cotto: If the bout with Ricky Hatton proved anything, it's that Pacquiao belongs at Junior Welterweight. While the 140-pound trout pond is not stuffed with mega-stars like Mosley and Mayweather, there are myriad names to consider.
A third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez would settle an old score.
Fighting Amir Khan in England would fill Wembley Stadium.
Undefeated guys like Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander would draw enough interest if marketed properly.
6. Take a Look at the Boxing Calendar: With the hoopla surrounding Pacquiao-Cotto, one could overlook what's on tap during the coming weeks.
Next Saturday, Mikkel Kessler takes on Andre Ward in the latest installment of the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament.
One week later, Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade face off in their rematch. The rest of the year features Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez (Dec. 5), Tim Bradley-Lamont Peterson (Dec. 12), Diaz-Malignaggi 2 (Dec. 12), Pascal-Diaconu 2 (Dec. 11) and Vitali Klitschko-Kevin Johnson (Dec. 12) .
In a year without a clear-cut Fight of the Year frontrunner, the best may be yet to come.