Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have played one-upmanship the past two months, and now fans can hope both fighters will end in the same ring.

While Mayweather made an impressive return from a 20-month retirement with a convincing decision over Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19, Pacquiao might have outdone him late Saturday in Las Vegas.

Fighting in a new division against an established welterweight failed to faze Pacquiao, who scored a 12th-round technical knockout over Miguel Cotto in their highly-anticipated title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Pacquiao's and Mayweather's performances will only add to the hype about a mega-fight between the sport's best two fighters.

``My job is to fight inside the ring,'' Pacquiao said. ``It's my promoter's job to make the fight. Right now, I'm going to take a vacation.''

Pacquiao continues to dispel the boxing adage of a ``good little man'' unable to beat a ``good man,'' ending Cotto's two-fight reign as World Boxing Organization champion. Against Cotto, Pacquiao displayed the constant speed and power that overwhelmed previous opponents in lighter weight classes.

The telling snap shop of Pacquiao's dominance occurred in the fourth round. Cotto controlled the first minute, pressing Pacquiao on the ropes and landing at will with combinations to the body.

But Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) moved away from the ropes in the round's closing seconds, found the right opening and dropped Cotto with a left to the head for his second knockdown of the fight. Even though Cotto was effective with lead left jabs, he seemingly lost steam in his punches after the second knockdown.

Pacquiao, who also floored Cotto with a right to the head in the third, stacked up round after round. Cotto (34-2) repeatedly absorbed multiple combinations to the head.

``I tried to test his power early,'' Pacquiao said. ``I pressured him but was careful.''

Pacquiao's punch buildup caused bleeding from Cotto's nose and noticeable bruises around his face. His accuracy and Cotto's inability to counter a late-fight comeback finally forced referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight 55 seconds into the final round after Pacquiao stunned Cotto with two solid lefts to the head near the ropes.

``In the last round, I was going for the knockout,'' Pacquiao said. ``It was a hard fight.''

The victory earned Pacquiao his seventh world title. Pacquiao, 30, fought his first professional fight at 106 pounds and won his first world title as a flyweight.

``Manny fought Cotto's fight too much in the beginning and stayed on the ropes too long, but as the fight went on, Manny's speed was too much for Cotto,'' said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer. ``Manny dictated the fight.

``The fight should have been stopped three rounds sooner when he stopped fighting and started running from Manny.''

Despite the loss, Cotto, 29, should remain relevant in the talent-rich welterweight class. If Antonio Margarito's regains his boxing license for attempting to use illegal hand wraps before a fight against Shane Mosley, a rematch with Cotto could prove appealing.

Cotto's first professional loss was against Margarito, and the fallout from the hand wrapping incident casts doubts on possible wrongdoings in the Margarito-Cotto fight.

NOTEWORTHY MATCH

Mosley will take on Miami resident Andre Berto in the first noteworthy bout of 2010.

Berto, who now lives in Winter Haven, will fight Mosley in a welterweight title unification bout Jan. 30 in Las Vegas.

SUPER SIX CLASSIC

The first stage of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic will conclude Saturday in Oakland. Former super-middleweight world champion Mikkel Kessler of Denmark will face California native Andre Ward, the last American gold medalist in boxing.

Ward, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Games, will attempt to become the first American fighter to win a tournament bout. Armenia's Arthur Abraham knocked out Jermain Taylor and England's Carl Froch won a decision against Andre Dirrell in the other first stage bouts last month.

The super-middleweight tournament, consisting of three American and three European fighters, will continue next year.

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