Live Blog: Pacquiao wins by TKO in round twelve Manny Pacquiao knocked Miguel Cotto down twice early and went from there

Pacquiao vs Cotto Manny Pacquiao captured his unprecedented seventh title in a seventh weight division with a twelfth-round TKO of Miguel Cotto Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Follow Our Coverage on Twitter Want to ask Brett Okamoto a question about what he's seeing from ringside? Or share your thoughts about the Pacquiao/Cotto bout with our readers? Add #boxing to your tweets about tonight's fight and Okamoto will tweet you an answer them as soon as he can. We'll also show them at the bottom of this story. Follow us @lvsunfighting

Reader poll Who wins? Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jr. View results

Manny Pacquiao won a world title in his seventh different weight class Saturday at the MGM Garden Arena when he beat Miguel Cotto by a TKO in the twelfth round.

Referee Kenny Bayless called the fight after Pacquiao landed a straight left to Cotto's face. Pacquiao is officialy the WBO welterweight title holder.

"I controlled the fight," Pacquiao said on HBO's Pay Per View. "I was aggressive in the fight."

Pacquiao knocked Cotto down twice in the early rounds, before Cotto recovered to almost go the distance in the fight. Cotto and his people nearly stopped the fight after Round Eleven, but allowed him to go on for one more.

Cotto said Pacquiao was so hard to fight because of the different angles he threw punches from.

"I didn't know from where the punches were coming," Cotto said. "I didn't protect myself from the punches."

That much was apparent. Cotto's face was totally swollen by the end of the fight.

Minutes after the fight finished, Pacquiao's fans began chanting "We want Floyd" referring to a possible upcoming fight pitting Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Although Pacquiao would not comment on the possibility afterward, trainer Freddie Roach did not hesitate.

"The whole world wants to see him fight Mayweather," Roach said. "I want to see him fight Mayweather."

Round Twelve

Rumor was that Cotto's corner stopped the fight in between rounds but Cotto comes back out for final round. Pacquiao comes forward with combination. Looking aggressive. Lands a straight left and the fight is called. Pacquiao by TKO in the 12th.

Round Eleven

You could hear the crowd's reaction to seeing Cotto's swollen face on the big screen at the start of the round. Pacquiao lowers his hands and gives another look of frustration at Cotto's unwillingness to exchange. Cotto's goes up against the ropes and now in the corner. Pacquiao lands some good shots but Cotto answers with a good left hook that pushes him back. Crowd begins to boo again as it's obvious Cotto doesn't want to fight anymore.

Round Ten

Cotto lands a hook then a jab. Pacquao comes forward with a few straight rights. Pacquiao lands a left hook. Pacquiao just chasing Cotto around the ring. Pacquiao even stops now for a second and gives Cotto a look because he won't engage him. Crowd bos for a second. Pacquiao lands a few straight punches to end the round.

Round Nine

Cotto lands a few early punches through the gloves of Pacquiao to start the round. Cotto lands a few good counter left hooks. Good three punch combination from Pacquiao. Cotto gets put in the corner and he's in trouble. He clinches to get away. Cotto goes back to the ropes. He can't stay off them. Pacquiao lands huge straight hands and it looked like Cotto was going down but fell on Pacquiao and stayed on his feet. Cotto lands a good left hook but it's not even slowing Pacquiao down. Cotto in the corner again but circles out.

Round Eight

Cotto lands a good jab while Pacquiao's hands are down. Another good jab from Cotto snaps Pacquaio's head back. Pacquiao lands a good right while Cotto comes forward that does damage. Pacquiao comes forward and lands a huge left with Cotto's back against the ropes. Cotto retreats and then throws an unexpected uppercut. He's backing up a lot now though. Pacquiao puts him against the ropes and fires away. Another round dominated by Pacquiao.

Round Seven

Big right hook from Pacquiao. Cotto's legs look weak but he survives for now. Pacquiao leans in and both fighters take shots. Pacquiao comes through with a few straight punches. Good jabs from Cotto. Cotto goes to defensive mode, covering up as Pacquiao throws combinations. Pacquiao lands a right hand, Cotto comes back with a jab. Good right hand from Cotto ends the round.

Round Six

Good left by Cotto. Jabs crash through for Cotto. Pacquiao lands a good right but Cotto comes back with another jab. Cotto lands the left hook but Pacquiao comes forward with a flurry. Cotto backs up from a Pacquiao flurry but then lands a hook. Pacquiao gets him against the ropes but Cotto clinches. Blood coming from a cut under Cotto's left eye. Big left from Pacquio that had Cotto in trouble but he grabs Pacquiao and hangs on to him. Round ends and Pacquiao smiles towards his corner.

Round Five

Pacquiao bobbing around, using entire ring while Cotto advances. Pacquiao in complete rhythm right now, crowd feels it and chants his name. A right and then a left from Pacquiao had Cotto's legs stumbling. Cotto clinches. Cotto pushes Pacquiao against the ropes again, only briefly this time. Cotto pushes forward looking for body shots. Cotto lands that big left hook. Pacquiao looks to win the round towards the end, firing combinations.

Round Four

Left hook from Cotto to start. Cotto coming forward again with the jab. Pacquiao against the ropes and takes a few shots. Pacquiao goes for a big left uppercut and gets countered. Another left hook from Cotto. Pacquiao throwing ton of punches but Cotto weathers it and lands a right hook then a left. Pacquiao backs to the ropes again and Cotto working the body. Another straight right from Cotto with Pacquiao against the ropes. Pacquiao covering up and then finally ducks and moves away from the ropes. Now Pacquiao moving forward with Cotto on the ropes and an uppercut drops him for the second time! Ten seconds left and Cotto in trouble. Bell saves him. Another 10-8.

Round Three

Cotto bullying forward to start the round, working the jab. Straight left from Cotto lands. Good right hand from Pacquiao and he follows with a combination that knocks down Cotto! Cotto is back up and Pacquiao not pressing immediately. Cotto missees an overhand left and Pacquiao counters but Cotto takes it and continues to move forward. Great left hook from Cotto, but Pacquiao doesn't seem bothered by it. Accidental headbutt stops action briefly, neither fighter cut. Good left from Cotto. Cotto lands another efective left hook. Cotto lands a good uppercut in the corner. 10-8 round for Pacquiao.

Round Two

Pacquiao tries to counter a jab with a combination but it's taken well by Cotto. Cotto lands an uppercut on a counter after Pacquiao comes forward. Cotto lands a jab and Pacquiao nods. Good left jab from Pacquiao followed by another. Good jab from Cotto to answer. Crowd is electric, going wild with every shot. Pacquiao lands a good uppercut that seemed to have hurt Cotto a bit. Cotto regains and lands a nice left hook. Cotto warned for a low blow. Pacquiao feints and then comes forward landing a hook to start a combination. Pacquiao becoming more aggressive. Good counter left from Pacquiao. Cotto works the body then goes high but Pacquiao comes a back and lands a flurry. The place erupts, Pacquiao wins the round.

Round One

Bell sounds and Firepower is on. Awesome to see the cameras flashing around the place. Cotto lands a good left jab that gets a response from the crowd. Another good left by Cotto. Pacquiao throws a few right hands blocked by Cotto. Good combination from Pacquiao. Pacquiao goes for a jab to the body but pays for it with good counters from Cotto. Pacquiao fires off a hard left that Cottto ducks under. Cotto throws an upercut but misses. Great first round, slight edge to Cotto.

Prefight

Considering the well-known fact that Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KO) carries the hope of the entire country of the Philippines into the ring with him every time he fights, the reigning pound-for-pound fighter is never short on motivation for a fight.

That said, he'll have even more than usual tonight.

Pacquiao looks to make boxing history when he steps in against WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KO) tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. If Pacquiao claims the belt, it will be the seventh different weight division the Filipino has won a world title in, breaking the record he currently shares with Oscar De La Hoya.

Also, for the first time in his career, both his parents will be inside the arena watching.

"This fight is very important to me because it will be boxing history," Pacquiao said. "Thirty years from now, my name — Manny Pacquiao — will still be there. Also this is the first time my father will be watching me fight so I am very excited for that."

Some have already counted out Cotto in this fight, despite the fact the Puerto Rican fighter has only one loss in his career — a controversial loss to Antonio Margarito in which Margarito may have been fighting with illegal hand wraps.

Discussions of a potential matchup between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have also come up, prompting a response from Cotto.

"After I beat Manny, he's free to fight whoever he wants," Cotto said.

Celebrities in attendance include Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, former Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson, actors Jeremy Piven, Mark Walberg, Mickey Rourke, Will Ferrell and Joe Pescie, boxers Chad Dawson, Shane Mosley, Tommy Hearns and Winky Wright.

Undercard results:

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. def. Troy Rowland by unanimous decision.

Yuri Foreman def. Daniel Santos by unanimous decision.

Alfonso Gomez def. Jesus-Soto Karass by unanimous technical decision at 2:14 of the sixth round.

Abner Cotto def. Gudalupe Guzman by unanimous decison.

Richie Mepranum def. Ernest Marquez by split decision.

Matvey Korobov def. James Winchester by unanimous decision.

Eden Sonsona def. Kdem by TKO at :17 of the second round.

Rodrigo Garcia def. Martin Vierra by unanimous decision.

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 people with excellent lines of sight and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. The Grand Garden Ticket Office is open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. 3799 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas , NV 89109 702-387-1600

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].