That Samuels fight was amazing! I knew the fight would be great (both men are always in good scraps) but that was something else.

Look out for Alfonso Gomez v Jesus Soto Karass on the undercard tonight. That should be a belter. In contrast, avoid the Daniel Santos v Yuri Foreman fight at all costs! Yori Boreman, sorry Foreman, is a horrible boxer to watch. Rumor has it he puts insomniacs into a deep sleep.

I love Cotto, he’s one of those rare fighters who matches up well with anyone, great for the sport it’s a shame one of them has to lose really.

I’m genuinely pumped for this one, it’s rare to get such a big fight where both guys are out and out action fighters, perfect recipe for a great fight. Too many mega fights in recent years have included either Oscar or Floyd, who don’t tend to get involved in too many classics.

I’ve got Pacquiao at around the same point you have Cotto but I’m gonna wait to bet online after the ring walks!! Cotto is great value if you fancy him to pull it off.

Good luck to Lee in a sec, pity about the footy though, hopefully you’ll catch them on a sulky day next leg.

Did you see the Samuels fight last night and the double knockdown? Classic!!

I have a feeling Cotto is going to pull this one off, but we will need to see the Cotto who defused and out-smarted Shane Mosley a couple of years ago. If the Puerto Rican is a faded force then he will lose, simple as that. But I believe we WILL see the best Cotto that we have ever seen and, of course, he’ll need to be.

Cotto’s boxing brain is very underrated and even when things don’t go according to plan, he can make the necessary adjustments mid-fight or even in the latter stages – as we saw against Clottey.

You make a good point about Cotto’s camp, but I actually reckon he’ll be the better prepared of the two. Reports are that Manny and Freddie have been at loggerheads for weeks. Pacquiao, against Roach’s wishes, did most of his work in the Philippines. The possibility exists that Manny might have been distracted due to his iconic status in his homeland and the last time that happened the Pac-Man looked very average against blown-up super-bantam Oscar Larios. Pacquiao, who was badly hurt by a heavy right-hand in the third round, won it by a mile but looked beatable that night and if we see a similar version tonight then we can kiss the Pacquiao/Mayweather superfight goodbye.

Of course, he’s been nothing short of phenomenal as of late, but I just wonder if his new found celebrity status has gone to his head a little bit.

There are many reasons why Pacquiao starts favourite tonight, but I’m going with Cotto to survive an early scare and take control from around the fifth and stop Pacquiao around the 11th in an amazing battle. If Manny wins, however, I’ll NEVER back against him ever again…. unless its against Floyd.

Off now to watch Andy Lee go up against useful Frenchman Affif Belghecham. I’ll let you know how that went. Hopefully the Irish can do the double over the French tonight!