Roach says, Cotto is a Tough Nut to Crack

Freddie Roach doesn’t want Manny Pacquiao to have the illusion that Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto is just going to roll over and die on November 14.

While most ringsiders see Cotto as being slow-footed and easy-to-hit, Roach sees something that makes him truly a livewire opponent.

Roach said people may have forgotten that Cotto holds a huge win over one of boxing’s toughest and trickiest fighters in Shane Mosley, who, like Pacquiao is quick on his feet and punches in bunches.

“Cotto beat Mosley,” said Roach, sounding a bit puzzled over claims being peddled that Pacquiao would have an easy time disposing of Cotto when they square off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Cotto bested Mosley when they fought in November 2007.

“This is going to be Manny’s toughest fight,” said Roach, who wants to set up training camp in Toluca, Mexico, to ensure that Pacquiao stays focused in the runup to Cotto.

The fight will be at 145 lbs and Cotto’s coveted World Boxing Organization welterweight crown will be on the line.

Despite an apparent slide in Cotto’s performance the past year, Roach remains a believer that Cotto still has a lot of championship juice left in his tank.

Cotto has started training in Puerto Rico under the strict supervision of head trainer Joe Santiago and strength coach Phil Landman.

Pacquiao hasn’t started his as the Filipino is still busy fulfilling all his showbiz commitments and is scheduled to report to the gym in mid-September which will officially kick off his eight-week training camp.

Cotto's Training Goes Full Blast

Cotto's training goes full blast

By NICK GIONGCO

The arrival of a conditioning coach and a nutritionist signal the start of Miguel Cotto’s full-blast training for his November 14 clash with Manny Pacquiao.

The past two weeks, Cotto has been showing up in a local gym in Puerto Rico every other day for light workouts under the supervision of chief trainer Joe Santiago, something that his team believes will help them prepare for the toughest training camp the 28-year-old Cotto will head into in the coming weeks.

Cotto said Los Angeles-based Phil Landman, a South African native, is due in Puerto Rico on August 22. Two days later, Landman will be running alongside Cotto in the morning and attend the afternoon workout as well as they try to come up with a battle plan for Pacquiao.

Their main concern about Pacquiao is the Filipino’s blinding speed and this is the reason why Cotto is even thinking of tapping the services of a Lilliputian fighter Ivan Calderon, also of Puerto Rico, to help him get use to the Filipino’s lightning-quick reflexes.

Calderon is a mere 108-pounder but his quickness, Team Cotto, says, will enable Cotto to experience what would it be like to be on the same ring with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, remains in the thick of his showbiz commitments, filming a movie that is due for release during the December film festival.

But chief trainer Freddie Roach has already done his homework, having signed up four sparring partners, including young junior-welterweight prospect Raymond Serrano and lightweight Urbano Antillon.

Pacquiao is not going to begin training until he gets back to the Philippines from a four-city press tour that kicks off on September 10 in New York. From the Big Apple, Pacquiao will travel to Puerto Rico, then to San Francisco, and finally to Los Angeles.

Pacquiao plans to train for one or two weeks in Baguio before camping out possibly in Mexico.

Cotto vows for Unforgettable Fight

Cotto vows for Unforgettable Fight
By NICK GIONGCO

An unforgettable fight and a victory for Puerto Rico.

That’s what Miguel Cotto said in an on-line video chat conducted by the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora on Friday, 85 days before he battles pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight title fight on November 14 in Las Vegas.

“(November 14) will be a great fight (with Pacquiao) and another triumph for Puerto Rico,” said Cotto, sounding extremely confident that his advantage in size will propel him past the Filipino hero in their scheduled 12-round World Boxing Organization (WBO) match at the MGM Grand.

“When the fight was signed, I had already thought about victory (in this fight),” said the 28-year-old Cotto, who has agreed to put the title on the line even at a catch weight of 145 lbs after being guaranteed a “sweetener.”

“I don’t believe that Pacquiao has the physical qualities to dictate the (tempo of the) fight. I have that advantage that will lead me to victory.”

Still, Cotto believes Pacquiao speed is going to be a major concern but “good defense should neutralize it.”

Cotto has been doing light workout the past three weeks as he prepares for the arrival of conditioning coach Phil Landman, who will show up in the gym on Monday and confer with lead trainer Joe Santiago.

Cotto also told those who participated in the video chat that he will not hand over the WBO crown to Pacquiao on a silver platter, stressing that he has sacrificed a lot in retaining it that the Filipino will have to bleed as well to take it away from him.

Cotto and Pacquiao are bound to size each other up when they go on a four-city press tour beginning on September 10 at Yankee Stadium in New York. From the Big Apple, the traveling circus will proceed to Cotto’s hometown of Caguas in Puerto Rico on the 12th followed by stops in San Francisco on the 13th and Los Angeles on the 14th.

Pacquiao Tickets Almost Sold Out

Pacquiao tickets almost sold out

By NICK GIONGCO

August 18, 2009, 6:53pm

There would only be a little over 2,000 tickets for the November 14 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto that will go on sale starting Wednesday, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum disclosed on Tuesday.

Tickets are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, and $150 and “only 2,100 will be sold to the public,” said Arum from Las Vegas.

The casinos have placed bulk orders and Arum expects a sellout as soon as they become available on line.

This early, internet ticket sellers are dangling tickets for the fight with the low-priced $150 seats selling for as much as $340 (P16,320) and a premium ringside floor seat that retail for $1,000 going for as much as $11,760 (P564,480).

The 17,000-capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will host the Pacquiao-Cotto brawl.

To perk up more interest in the fight, regarded as the biggest bout of the year, Arum will go on a four-city press tour beginning on Sept. 10 at Yankee Stadium in New York with the two fighters in tow. Other stops will be Puerto Rico (Sept. 12), San Francisco (Sept. 13) and Los Angeles (Sept. 14).

After the Los Angeles leg, the 30-year-old Pacquiao said he will return to the Philippines to start the first phase of his eight-week training camp possibly in Baguio City.

Arum said the highly-acclaimed resort city of Cancun in Mexico looks like it as far as the venue of Pacquiao’s training camp is concerned.

In contrast, Cotto is about to start the third week of his light training since the 28-year-old slugger plans to go heavy once his conditioning coach Phil Landman arrives in Puerto Rico this week.