'Perfect' Pacquiao ready for Cotto

Eurosport - Fri, 23 Oct 10:27:00 2009

Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has overcome disruptions from typhoons and landslides while training in the Philippines to be in ideal shape ahead of his big bout with Miguel Cotto, according to his trainer.

BOXING Manny Pacquiao returns to Manilla in the Phillipinnes as a hero after his demolition of Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas - 0

"He is right where I want him to be, perfect," Freddie Roach said after the six-times world-champion completed a heavy workout that included 10 rounds of sparring in a Manila gym.

Pacquiao will head to the United States on the weekend after an intense five weeks of training in his home country, during which more than 1,000 people died in natural disasters.

Pacquiao was even forced to move camps from the cool mountain resort of Baguio to the sweaty capital of Manila after storms claimed hundreds of lives in and around the hill station, then a typhoon threatened more damage there.

But Roach insisted the disasters had not impacted his 30-year-old protege, who stunned the world with victories over American great Oscar de la Hoya last year and Britain's Ricky Hatton in May.

"We didn't let it affect our training. We worked right through it and never missed a day," Roach said of the storms. "So it was a great training camp in Baguio."

Pacquiao is a deeply religious man and a hero to virtually everyone in the Southeast Asian nation. But Roach said Pacquiao had remained completely committed to his training despite the disasters going on around him.

"One hundred per cent. No problem at all. It's been a really good training camp. He's been focused from day one, throughout," he said.

Pacquiao will travel to Los Angeles for two weeks of training ahead of his November 14 fight against Cotto, the 27-year-old Puerto Rican who is looking to snatch the Filipino's status as best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Cotto, the WBO welterweight champion, is a huge underdog for the 145-pound bout at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

But his trainer, Joe Santiago, said this week he was confident of an upset.

"When that night comes and he wins, everyone will know that Puerto Rico does have the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world," Santiago said from Cotto's training camp at the Fight Factory Gym in Tampa, Florida.

"Cotto is the first true welterweight that (Pacquiao) will have fought in his career. He is young and still in his prime so that is what Pacquiao is facing."

AFP

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  1. Cotto will knock Pacman out by the 9th round. Cotto­ will be too powerful for Pacman. He will notice that­ Cotto, who is younger than Pacman is neither De la Hoya­ or Haton. Expect a knock out.

    YK

    From Okk, on Mon 2 Nov 6:15PM

  2. No, not Sheffield.

    From The Xentertainer, on Sun 25 Oct 5:53PM

  3. X, you mention your 'reputation,' you're­ not from Sheffield, are you?

    From Lance, on Sat 24 Oct 8:10PM

  4. And to Jake...I mis-read your message. I thought you­ were naming all of Hatton's fights. If Hatton comes­ back, I think he needs to fight Bradley, Khan and Cotto­ in that order. And win! He knows his heart's not in­ fighting anymore and he'll stay a promoter.

    From The Xentertainer, on Sat 24 Oct 6:50PM

  5. I'm going to place my reputation and logic on the­ line by saying the winner will be...boxing fans! No,­ seriously, I think Froch will beat Kessler. Oh, this­ bout? Pacquiao to beat Cotto by split points decision.­ And Khan to win his fight inside 6 rounds before taking­ on Malignaggi. A game fighter with no punch is exactly­ what Warren's looking for. And Magic Man still­ attracts a crowd too!!!

    From The Xentertainer, on Sat 24 Oct 6:49PM

  6. Yeah hard to call. I will be wrong anyway!

    From markylloyd, on Sat 24 Oct 5:38PM

  7. So you're not hedging your bets then, Marky! Cotto­ by stoppage around 7 for me mate.

    From Lance, on Sat 24 Oct 5:05PM

  8. I partially would like to see Manny win this, just to­ set up a fight with FMJ althouth Cotto against FMJ­ would also be good to see. I think FMJ would beat both.­

    For me, Manny late stoppage due to Cottos face being­ torn to shreds or a fairly early stoppage for a Cotto­ win!

    From markylloyd, on Sat 24 Oct 4:51PM

  9. Still Pac beat a small JUNIOR welterweight that has­ been know to get knocked out bc he leaves himself wide­ open after every punch he throws. Cotto is a true­ welterweight and not only that but come fight night­ will come in at almost a middleweight. Pac will not be­ able to knock him out, like i said before he will have­ to re-open that cut otherwise he cant hurt Cotto and­ this speed that people talk about is nothing Cotto­ hasnt seen and a few of his signature left hooks to the­ body and Pac wont move or punch so quick. it will be­ the best fight in a very long time and It will be­ either Roach's game plan that wins or Cotto's­ ability. I'm sticking to my Cotto by decision and­ he will win by two or three rounds.

    From Justin A, on Sat 24 Oct 4:44PM

  10. Jake...when did Hatton fight De La Hoya!?!??!!? I­­ suggested this bout should take place at Wembley,­ earlier this year as a final hurrah for them­ both. But­ that now will never came to fruition. As for­­ Calzaghe...I think Eubank in his heyday could have­­ KO'd anyone but the Watson fight took something­­ from both boxers (obviously that wasn't meant to­­ sound callous Watson fasn. I think he too could have­­ been a great World Champion). BUT Eubank admitted that­­ Calzaghe was his best opponent. Calzaghe also did­ fight­ the best...eventually! He defeated Kessler,­ Reid, B.Hop­ (which I think he did by one round) and­ ruined a­ certain Jeff ' I'm the greatest'­ Lacy. But­ JC also foought some real bums. Manfredo Jr­ for­ goodness sake didn't deserve a shot at­ Calzaghe.­ When he got his chance Froch was European­ Champion and­ number 7 in the world. Manfredo Jr was­ nowhere. He won­ a TV Show that's all! Bika was­ meant to be a­ walkover because there was no other­ boxer on the date­ JC fought. And Bika made Calzaghe­ look sloppy. I will­ defend most of Calzaghe's­ fights (he's earned some respect) but there is­ only­ ONE man, Lance, that JC ducked...Sven Ottke. But­­ that's because he knew he'd never KO Ottke and­­ the points-scoring corruption in Germany would see­­ Calzaghe lose. Hatton did fight the best, but the best­­ were miles too good.

    From The Xentertainer, on Sat 24 Oct 3:57PM

  11. Jake...when did Hatton fight De La Hoya!?!??!!? I­ suggested earlier this year as a final hurrah for them­ both. But that never came to fruition. As for­ Calzaghe...I think Eubank in his heyday could have­ KO'd anyone but the Watson fight took something­ from both boxers (obviously that wasn't meant to­ sound callous Watson fasn. I think he too could have­ been a great World Champion). BUT Eubank admitted that­ Calzaghe was his best opponent. Calzaghe also did fight­ the best...eventually! He defeated Kessler, Reid, B.Hop­ (which I think he did by one round) and ruined a­ certain Jeff ' I'm the greatest' Lacy. But­ JC also foought some real bums. Manfredo Jr for­ goodness sake didn't deserve a shot at Calzaghe.­ When he got his chance Froch was European Champion and­ number 7 in the world. Manfredo Jr was nowhere. He won­ a TV Show that's all! Bika was meant to be a­ walkover because there was no other boxer on the date­ JC fought. And Bika made Calzaghe look sloppy. I will­ defend most of Calzaghe's fights but there is onle­ ONE man, Lance, that JC ducked...Sven Ottke. But­ that's because he knew he'd never KO Ottke and­ the points-scoring corruption in Germany would see­ Calzaghe lose. Hatton did fight the best, but the best­ were miles too good.

    From The Xentertainer, on Sat 24 Oct 3:55PM

  12. Cant say Joe ducked Winky Wright, Pavlik or Trinidad.­ How would you know this? Just because he didn't­ fight them. Pavlik only came along later in Joes career­ and may have been dangerous, Joe would have beaten him­ anyway. Who knows with Winky Wright, I suspect Joe­ would have won that too. Trinidad would have stood no­ chance against Joe. As for being scared to give a­ rematch.... thats just a stupid thing to say. He­ wasn't scared to be in the ring with the opponent­ to begin with and beat every one of them. What exactly­ was he scared of? He stated early on in his career, he­ didn't do rematches.
    Comparison to Hatton. Hatton­ took chances and lost, Joe didn't , Hatton often­ didn't stick to a game plan, Joe always did. Hatton­ only ever had plan A, Joe had plan A, B, C etc . Sadly­ Hatton as much as I love him, was not in the same­ league as Joe.
    Joe retired undeafeted, Joe won world­ titles in 2 weight divisions, Joe was a world champion­ for over 10 years. I reckon that makes him great.

    From markylloyd, on Sat 24 Oct 3:51PM

  13. Lance, a few things about Calzaghe. He was a good­ fighter, good head movement, fast hands, great­ workrate. now some more things about Calzaghe. He was­ not a clean puncher and a lot of his punches were­ SLAPS.He often hit the gloves of opponents and yet this­ was taken down as him having landed loads of punches.­ Joe and Enzo Calzaghe were famous in the sport of­ boxing for saying that they dont give anyone a rematch.­ They kept this up through out Joe's entire career.­ Now just imagine all the other great boxers through the­ ages saying they wont do rematches. They would not be­ that great.
    Great fighters are not scared to give a­ guy a rematch. Calzaghe stayed literally in wales­ through out his career, where he was allowed to get­ away with his slaping. If he had come to usa earlier,­ he would have been pulled up by the judges.
    He ducked­ winky wright, pavlik,Trinidad, avoided a rematch­ against Reid. did not give Eubank a rematch. was made­ to look sloppy and pathetic against a old man in­ Hopkins. Roy Jones put him down in the first round and­ jones was awful in that fight. He was seeing through­ only one eye and C alzaghe still could not put him­ away. What you fail to realize Lance, is that a fighter­ is not the best just because he retired underfeated. He­ had to fight the best around and give guys a rematch.­ Just imagine if all the other great fighters' had­ followed in Calzaghe's footsteps and not given­ anyone a rematch. What a poorer sport boxing would have­ been.
    How can you or any Calzaghe supporters say he­ was great when he would not take risks and give ­ rematches? I rate Hatton far more than Calzaghe,. De­ la HOYA, Mayweather, Pacquaio, Wright, Mosley, in the­ old times, the fantastic four all gave each other­ rematches. great fighters. The list could go on. Sadly­ Calzaghe never done this, that why i will always say he­ was a very good fighter but not a great­ fighter.
    Kessler had a dmaazged

    From jake, on Sat 24 Oct 2:26PM

  14. Name me a fighter Calzaghe ducked (he never ducked­ Froch, Carl couldn't put bums on seats, there was­ nothing in it for Joe, what did he have to gain? No­ title and no big payday.) Joe struggled to get­ meaningful fights because no one wanted him - a tough,­ cute left hander with a workrate that would kill you­ and in your face every minute of every round. Sorry­ jake, I'm struggling to think of who he might have­ ducked.

    From Lance, on Sat 24 Oct 12:03PM

  15. lance i agree with you, this is going to be one­ brillaint fight. I still believe Pacquaio has too much­ for Cotto. You said Pacquaio has lost before, yes that­ is true. But the Pacquaio of today is a much better­ fighter. His head movement is much better. Pacquaio­ all round is a much better fighter. Did someone say­ that Pacquaio has no power, well Ricky Hatton seemed to­ go down easily from a guy who supoosed to have no­ power.
    Cotto and Pacquaio both beat FMJ, for me. To be­ the best, you have to fight the best. FMJ, has not done­ that, a bit like Calzaghe.
    Oh and Sirstevejones, do­ keep your @#$% to yourself. Your great hero was made to­ look like a fool.

    From jake, on Sat 24 Oct 10:25AM

  16. What a cracker this fight is going to be. I hope they­ both go for a tear up from the start. There is a whiff­ of an upset in the air. Remember Paquaio has been­ beaten - tenner on Cotto for a late stoppage.

    From Lance, on Sat 24 Oct 9:07AM

  17. Embarrassment is an emotional state experienced upon­ having a socially or professionally unacceptable act or­ condition witnessed by or revealed to others. Usually­ some amount of loss of honour or dignity is involved,­ but how much and the type depends on the embarrassing­ situation. It is similar to shame, except that shame­ may be experienced for an act known only to oneself.

    From j b, on Sat 24 Oct 4:06AM

  18. That leader of the BNP,Nick Griffin,did you see him on­ question time,a joke,an embarrassment.

    From j b, on Sat 24 Oct 4:04AM

  19. Mayweather will beat Pacquiao and Cotto,he is just too­ good,love him or hate him,he has the skills to beat­ anyone.

    From j b, on Sat 24 Oct 4:01AM

  20. sirstevejones,shut up you slag,BNP cack sucking piss­ wit.

    From j b, on Sat 24 Oct 3:58AM
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