First pics: Cotto opens camp!

WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto had his first day of training for his ‘Firepower’ super fight against Manny Pacquiao on November 14. Miguel began his training camp in the Abner “Pin” Cotto Boxing Gym in Aguas Buenas. He will be training three days a week to establish a pre-training condition until his physical trainer Phil Landman arrives in Puerto Rico on August 22 to begin full training sessions on Monday, August 24.

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Manny nearly pulls out of Cotto fight

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao came close to pulling the plug on Miguel Cotto if not for the assurance by promoter Bob Arum that the Puerto Rican will stake his World Boxing Organization welterweight title at a catchweight of 145 lb on Nov. 14.

Pacquiao’s lawyer, Franklin Gacal, yesterday said they were already preparing an official statement saying they will have to start looking for another opponent after reports said Cotto was not willing to stake his 147 lb title.

The reports quoted Cotto as saying he will only stake his WBO title if the fight is held at 147 lb, the welterweight limit, and that the 28-year-old champion was not willing to pay WBO the $150,000 sanctioning fee.

“Bob Arum told us not to believe everything that’s being reported. Then he assured me that Cotto will put his WBO welterweight title on the line -- at 145 pounds,” said Gacal from Gen. Santos City yesterday.

“We have to take Mr. Arum’s word on that,” added Gacal.

The Pacquiao lawyer said with the weight issue practically settled, now comes the money issue, although he said both camps have had an agreement regarding the purse sharing.

But Gacal did not give out the details, only saying that a 65-35 sharing in favor of Pacquiao should be the “worst-case scenario” for the Filipino pound-for-pound champion and today’s main attraction in boxing.

Gacal is hoping that the fight contract for Pacquiao vs Cotto be signed as soon as possible so both boxers can start focusing on what they have to do on the ring than on the negotiating table.

Reports said Cotto is scheduled to start working out today in Puerto Rico, while Roach wants Pacquiao to start limbering up before the press tour set on the second week of September.

“We were almost ready to issue a statement that we’ll start looking for a new opponent because of all those talks that Cotto wants Pacquiao to go up to 147 before he stakes his crown,” said Gacal.

Gacal, however, did not mention the boxer they had in mind in case the Cotto fight was scratched. It could be Shane Mosley, who’s offering Pacquiao everything but the kitchen sink, or someone else.

And that could even be Floyd Mayweather Jr., whom trainer Freddie Roach described as “the easiest fight of the three.”

Mayweather, who retired almost two years ago but is slated to return to the ring in September against Juan Manuel Marquez, another fighter drooling over Pacquiao.

The fight was supposed to be held in July but a rib injury sustained by Mayweather in training, coupled by poor ticket sales, led to a cancellation, and a new date on Sept. 19.
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Pacquiao eager to be a seven-division champion

ound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao is eager to gun for another world title in an unprecedented seventh division against World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico in their Nov. 14 duel in Las Vegas.

The Pacman, the current International Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine light-welterweight champion, had previously owned titles at flyweight (World Boxing Council), super-bantamweight (International Boxing Federation), featherweight (Ring Magazine), super-featherweight (WBC), and lightweight (WBC) and another one would further cement his status among the sport’s elite.
The Pacquiao-Cotto fight is penciled at a catchweight of 145-lbs (two pounds below the welterweight class) but no less than WBO president Francisco Valcarcel himself said it could still be a WBO-sanctioned welterweight title fight, citing a similar precedent, the Oscar De La Hoya-Bernard Hopkins duel for the middleweight (160-lb) crown which was fought at 158-lbs.

“Let Manny fight for the title and if he wins, he will get the title as WBO Welterweight Champion of the World," Valcarcel said a recent interview by PhilBoxing.com.

So upon knowing the WBO’s position, Pacquiao has insisted on having Cotto stake his WBO 147-lb belt as he guns for more glory in possibly his last fight.

“Sa pamamagitan ng pagsanction ng WBO sa laban namin, mangyayaring magkaroon ako ng tsansa na maging isang seven-division champion, na hindi pa nangyayari kasaysayan ng boxing," Pacquiao wrote in his Kumbinasyon column for Abante and PhilBoxing.com.

Currently he shares the rare distinction of being a six-division champ with retired legend Oscar De La Hoya, whom Pacquiao disposed of in a non-title duel at 147-lbs last December. The "Golden Boy" held world titles in the super-featherweight, lightweight, light-welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight, and middleweight wars.
“Magkakaroon ako ng tsansa na malampasan ang ganitong record (De La Hoya’s feat in six divisions)," said the Filipino ring icon.

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, had earlier dismissed a title fight, reportedly saying “No one cares about a belt."

But Pacquiao has now instructed his lawyer, Jeng Gacal, to coordinate with Valcarcel and Arum to make the necessary arrangements, including payment of the $150,000 sanction fee, to make the Cotto gig a showdown for the latter’s welterweight strap.

“Binibigyang papuri ko ang WBO sa kanilang pagbigay ng espesyal na kunsiderasyon na ang labang ito ay para sa korona ni Cotto, ang pinakamagaling na welterweight sa mundo sa kasalukuyan," Pacquiao said.

As always, the 30-year-old dynamo is prepared to kill himself at the gym as he takes on Cotto’s tough challenge.

“Alam kong matinding pagsubok na naman ang nasa aking harapan at matinding ensayo na naman ang aking gagawin," he said, adding he’s inspired to plunge into serious training by September. - GMANews.TV
 

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Roach advises Floyd: Don’t take Pacquiao fight

Famed trainer Freddie Roach has dispensed Floyd Mayweather Jr. a piece of “advice” on a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao, one that the former pound-for-pound king certainly won’t like.
“Don’t take this fight! Even though this is the fight that all boxing fans want to see, it would not surprise me to see Mayweather fight Mosley instead of Manny,” he told Roach told David Tyler of DoghouseBoxing.com. “Why fight a guy you can’t possibly beat?”
The possible Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown is one fight most boxing fanatics would like to see as it will pit two of the most popular boxers today.
Roach said Mayweather won’t pose any problem against his prized ward.
“He presents no problem for Manny. He is too small and fragile for Manny. He doesn’t have the skills to hurt my fighter,” said the American trainer.
Mayweather is currently preparing for his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on September 20 while Pacquiao is arranging a match with Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao’s trainer explained, “He is elusive but he can’t move his body. He is very quick with head movement. You break his body down, he has bad hands, bad ribs, bad knee and he’s had rotator cuff surgery.”
“Manny will be applying pressure from the beginning and never let up,” he said of what he thinks will happen in a Pacquiao-Mayweather clash.
“That’s exactly why Mayweather will be an easier opponent than Cotto or (Shane) Mosley or even Marquez. He will use both hands and he is certainly the faster fighter.”
How to beat Cotto
Roach revealed that in two week’s time, he will be laying out to Pacquiao his game plan in beating Cotto.
“In a couple of weeks I will be able to tell Manny how to beat Cotto and he will work on this strategy in the gym,” he said.
The awarded trainer is certain that Pacquiao will prevail in his next fight. But he needs to study more videos of Cotto “to see the fights where he was at his best.”
“This is the only way that I can study his strengths as well as his weaknesses,” reasoned Roach.
Cotto, who hails from Puerto Rico, is the World Boxing Organization welterweight champion. The bout’s catch weight, however, is 145 pounds. This is two pounds less than the welterweight limit of 147.
Pacquiao earlier said he is pushing for a title fight with Cotto, who refused to put his belt at stake because of the sanction fee involved.
Roach said that at present, Pacquiao “has lots of confidence and by that I mean he is not afraid to stand ‘toe to toe’ without backing out of an exchange.”
“Hard to believe but he now hits just as hard with the right hand as he does with his left hand,” he added. With a report from The Philippine Star
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Cotto wants fight with Pacquiao at 147lbs

Miguel Cotto is willing to stake his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Manny Pacquiao.
With one major condition of course, that the fight has to be at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.

“If Pacquiao wants a title for the fight, it will have to be at 147," Cotto declared from his hometown in Puerto Rico.

His offer is the latest plot twist in his scheduled November 14 showdown against the reigning pound-for-pound king and the six-division title holder Pacquiao.

The 12-round Pacquiao-Cotto match, which will be held in Las Vegas, is considered by many as the biggest bout in the final half of 2009.

Originally set at a catch weight of 145 pounds, Cotto was forced to set his own condition this time after Pacquiao insisted that the Puerto Rican’s WBO crown be put on the table.

Pacquiao’s suggestion was even backed by no less than WBO president Francisco Valcarcel, who was more than willing to sanction the match.

But Cotto, in an interview with Puerto Rican newspaper Primerahora, stressed the catch weight of 145 pounds doesn’t fall under any category in boxing. “The weight of 145 pounds is not a category."

He said since he won the title at 147 pounds, then Pacquiao should agree going up in weight if he wants the WBO title at stake.

Cotto acknowledged, however, that as the sanctioning boxing body, the WBO can strip him of his title if he refused to defend it.

“The WBO has the legal authority to dismiss me as champion. I have no problem with that," said the world champion, who is busy promoting his new line of clothing in Puerto Rico.

This developed as Cotto revealed he’s planning to go back to the gym next week and start to do some light work out. – GMANews.TV

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Pacquiao’s camp blames Arum for ‘no-title’ fiasco

The insistence of Miguel Cotto not to put his world title at stake when he fights Manny Pacquiao is being blamed on Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said on Friday that Arum's hasty decision to come out with an announcement about the Pacquiao-Cotto fight scheduled Nov. 14 in Las Vegas early last week could be one of the reasons behind the insistence of Cotto to stand firm on his decision not to stake the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown.

"I don't know why Bob made the announcement when in fact we haven't seen the (official) contract," said Gacal when asked about the other pertinent details of the contract.

Arum has both Pacquiao and Cotto under the promotional banner of Top Rank.

Cotto's decision not to risk the WBO 147-lb crown stems from the fact that the fight is going to be at a catch weight of 145 lbs and that during the negotiations, Team Pacquiao did not bother to raise the issue.

Cotto said he will only risk the WBO title if Pacquiao agrees to face him at 147 lbs.

"(My decision is) final and firm," Cotto told El Nuevo Dia in a story that appeared on the paper's July 31 issue. "The belt is not going to be on the line in the fight."

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, already panicky about the prospects of bringing Pacquiao somewhere else other than the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, was bothered when told about the development.

"The WBO should make it a title fight. We don’t need the fight if the title is not on the line," Roach told The Bulletin. "I want Manny to do this for a reason. I want Manny to win seven world titles. Titles are overrated but I would like to see Manny do this."

There's been no seven-division world champion in boxing and Roach is dead-sure Pacquiao will become the very first when he faces Cotto.

Pacquiao has won legitimate world titles at flyweight (112 lbs), super-bantam (122), super-feather (130) and lightweight (135), but was widely recognized as well when he beat Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring magazine featherweight (126) crown and Ricky Hatton last May even if the Englishman, considered as the best in the division, held the fringe International Boxing Organization junior-welter (140) diadem.

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Why Pacquiao Will Destroy Cotto: Fire Up The Grill and Simmer Until Ready

By Mike Burnell: First and foremost this is a fight fans fight. It’s a fight that stimulates our primitive hunger for violence. This may not be the huge fillet mignon that hardcore fight fans crave but it is a juicy rib eye. Anyone who has grilled a day in their life knows that it is almost impossible to grill a ribeye that doesn’t satisfy. This fight will leave us full and anticipating the next meal.
This fight is a case of two fighters going in opposite directions. Both fighters have legions of absolute die hard fans but unfortunately only one side will celebrate the result. Fans of both fighters will be able to hold their heads high at the end of the bout however fans of the Filipino phenom will be salivating like a starving dog in Pavlov’s kennel for the Super fight we all know is on the horizon.

It is certainly a telling sign when Pac, who calls the shots, opts for dangerous Cotto at 145 (only two pounds under the welter limit) instead of a ‘weight drained’ Shane Mosley at 140 who hasn’t been close to that weight in nearly a decade. On the surface it appears to be a much more comfortable weight for the smaller framed overachiever to take on Shane but he opted against it despite the decided advantage. What does he see?

Miguel Cotto has a very impressive record of 34-1 (27). His sole loss to Antonio Margarito is shrouded in doubt as Margarito was discovered with loaded gloves v Mosley. Cotto apologists will give him a pass as it is possible Margo had loaded gloves that night too. Truth be told loaded gloves don’t help a mans beard and Cotto couldn’t substantially hurt him. The freshly tattooed Cotto’s victory over Michael Jennings was meaningless to knowledgeable boxing fans but a great blind antiseptic him and his fans.

Most recently Cotto engaged in a life or death struggle against much avoided Josh Clottey. Enduring a huge wound over his left eye in the early rounds he managed a disputed decision in front of a pro-Cotto crowd. Most objective fans wouldn’t have a problem had the decision gone the other way. Cotto is a very tired 28 years old with wars against Zab Judah, and Shane Mosley while being rattled by Chop Chop Corley and others along the way. The Cotto we saw v Clottey will bring impressive credentials into the ring and he will likely be carried out v Pac.

Manny Pacqiuao is 30 years old and is deservedly recognized as the mythical pound for pound champion of the world. He recently annihilated larger Hatton who had lost only once (to Floyd Mayweather Jr) and dethroned the legendary Kostya Tszyu. Freddy Roach helped Pac turn the corner from being a one armed bomber with good intentions to a two-fisted southpaw killer.

Mayweather will be successful as expected v smaller Marquez via 7th round TKO and Pac defeats legit Welter Cotto at 145 with an accumulation of punishment however the official result will be TKO on cuts. It will set up the mouth watering fight of the decade. The money will be far too large to prevent the fight (they will argue percentages but the fight will happen) for recognition of the best fighter of their era and the largest non-Heavyweight purse in history.

This is not an interesting match between unproven prospects, it is the biggest bout that can be made with todays two biggest stars. It is reminiscent of the first Ali-Frazier bout where both had legitimate claims to the same championship. They chose to settle it in the ring and the rest is history.

While we may hunger for fillet lets enjoy the rib eye that we are being offered. Regardless of the result the grill is hot and ready for the main course…

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