Cityam.com

POUND-FOR-POUND king Manny Pacquiao insists he is feeling stronger than ever ahead of his mega-fight with Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas on Sunday morning. Pacquiao moves up to welterweight to take on the WBO king in a bout both claim to be the most important of their careers. Both have shown a mutual respect for another but Pacquiao said: “I feel stronger than I ever have. My punches are harder, my speed is in tact.” read more

(CNN) — Manny Pacquiao believes his lightning hand speed will help him triumph over Miguel Cotto’s raw power as he bids to take his World Boxing Organization welterweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Filipino former flyweight world title-holder is hoping to become a five-weight world champion when he takes on Puerto Rican champion Cotto at the MGM Grand Hotel.

By Leo Reyes
Miguel Cotto risks his chances of winning three successive fights after his devastating loss to Antonio Margarito when he faces Manny Pacquiao on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
If the Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto insists on using his old boxing style when …

LAS VEGAS — The image likely is seared into the minds of those who saw it: Miguel Cotto, his face a swollen mask, with blood pouring from cuts around his eye, his mouth and his nose, as if he had been beaten by a baseball bat.

In This Corner TV

InThisCornerTV.com stopped by Manny Pacquiao’s training camp and spoke with Manny and his trainer Freddie Roach as they prepare to take on Miguel Cotto this Saturday Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight can be seen Live on HBO PPV in the U.S. and on Sky Sports in the U.K. Smitty also delivered Manny a beautiful Limited Edition Photograph of Muhammad Ali courtesy of the San Fransisco Art Exchange in recognition of being chosen as In This Corner’s Fighter of the Year. See more

By Abac Cordero
LAS VEGAS – Freddie Roach wants Miguel Cotto to feel what Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton felt in the opening rounds.
He wants Manny Pacquiao to dictate the pace and even go for the kill if and when the opportunity arises.
“I really hope he comes out and shows …

By Abac Cordero
LAS VEGAS
– Give this round to Joe Santiago.
After taking big hits from his counterpart, Freddie Roach, the 32-year-old trainer of Miguel Cotto landed a good one during Wednesday’s final press conference at the Hollywood Theater of the MGM Grand.
“Good luck to Manny. He’s gonna need it,” said …

By Kevin Iole
LAS VEGAS – There may come a day, not too long from now, when boxing fans speak of Pacquiao-Cotto in the same reverential terms that they speak of Hagler-Hearns.
The fight matches a pair of elite fighters in the prime of their careers with styles that mesh perfectly with …

By Michael Rosenthal
LAS VEGAS — The United States has its superstars, athletes who capture the imagination with their unusual achievements and bigger-than-life personas, athletes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Not even they could ascend to the level of Manny Pacquiao among Filipinos, though. Pacquiao has dominated his sport as Jordan …

By Steve Kim
After the IRS imposed exile to Baguio, followed by the malaise of Manila, trainer Freddie Roach was satisfied with where his charge, Manny Pacquiao, was- physically and mentally- as they headed down the home stretch of their training camp at their familiar haunts of the Wild Card Boxing …

By Jake Donovan
There are a lot of issues that will remain open to debate regardless of who is the last man standing in this weekend’s superfight between defending welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto and consensus pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
What won’t necessarily be decided this weekend at the MGM Grand …

By David A. Avila
FYI:
With most of the world stuck in the middle of the recession blues, it’s important to peruse any means necessary to imbibe in one’s vices; be they drinking a 12-pack of Mexican beer or watching a prizefight of mega proportions.
So why not combine the two?
Tecate is offering …

By Eric Samson
“I'm sure all of you guys have seen that I'm predicting Pacquiao to go down in the 6th round. Here is my round-by-round breakdown of the fight as I see it happening,” stated Ecko MMA Brand Manager Eric Samson as he replied to recent comments made by fans …

By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS – It was a news conference, which only means not a whole lot happened. Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto talked Wednesday like diplomats after accepting keys to the city from the only politician with a title, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.
If Goodman’s gift included any keys …

Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto attended a press conference today ahead of their bout on Saturday.

The first few speakers are the typically dry promoters and officials from the MGM, Top Rank etc. The mayor of Las Vegas also appears to give the key to the city to both Cotto and Pacquiao.

Also announced earlier today was the fact that the winner will be declared the WBO super champ, which pretty much lets the champion have an easier time of things with regards to title defences, and lets them get title shots faster in other WBO divisions. It seems rather meaningless given the fact that Pacquiao will probably move on to a different title should he win, and he’s the big favourite.

By Ronan Keenan
LAS VEGAS — The deference between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto was upheld at Thursday’s final pre-fight press conference, the last chance for promoters to crank up the publicity machine ahead of this weekend’s showdown at the MGM Grand.
The tone was relaxed, with promoter Bob Arum exclaiming …

By Carlos Cinco
With three episodes of Pacquiao – Cotto 24/7 down and only one to go, I think we’ve seen everything that needs to be seen already. There should be no more surprises left until the night of the fight itself. The premise is clear. It will …

By Kevin Baxter
Whenever Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto fight — never mind when they fight one another — the run-up to the bout is refreshingly free of the trash-talking that has long marred boxing.
All of which made the words of Cotto’s new trainer, Joe Santiago, stand out at Wednesday’s final …

By Bill Dwyre
The quest to have you part with $54.95 to see the Pacquiao-Cotto fight Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view was in its homestretch here Wednesday.
If this is a tough sell, it is only because slugfests are not high priority in sluggish economies. Or because the stars, Manny Pacquiao and …

Boxing’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao talks about his mental strategy to the sport with Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times before Saturday’s welterweight title shot at Miguel Cotto.

By TIM DAHLBERG
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The best little fighter you will probably ever see had the seat of honor on the bus carrying him to his grand arrival at the MGM Grand casino. Manny Pacquiao had some more promoting to do, some more hands to shake, some more fans …

By Frank Lotierzo
As a boxing purist it’s impossible not to be a big fan of Miguel Cotto. He like Marco Antonio Barrera altered his style later in his career as he moved up in weight. Cotto used to fight almost exclusively as the attacker as a junior welterweight; now …

By Gabriel Montoya

When two fighters of similar mentalities but contrasting styles collide a foundation is created upon which a violent nirvana can be built. Hagler/Hearns, Castillo/Corrales, and the Marquez/Vasquez trilogy are just a few shining examples. While it’s two early to tell just how good or bad of chemistry Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto (43-1 with 27 KOs) and the Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2 with 37 KOs) have, all the ingredients of an all out war have definitely been put in the pot to begin simmering. On the eve of this Saturday’s 145 lb welter catch weight battle at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Miguel Cotto seems as focused and intent on winning at all costs as ever.

“Manny Pacquiao has the things he has today because he earned them,” said Cotto at a recent open media workout at the Pound for Pound gym in Los Angeles, CA. “He beat Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar was a great champion but Manny chose the right time to face him in the last fight of his career. Everybody knows Hatton doesn’t have a good defense and Manny proved it in their fight. But now he is going to fight Miguel Cotto. You can’t compare me to those fighters.”

On paper, Pacquiao is the faster, harder hitting fighter; a whirling dervish of a southpaw who darts in and out looking to land heavy leather in rapid succession from all angles. It’s this exceptional speed that amplifies Pacquiao’s considerable power has made him a 2 ½ to 1 favorite and most every pundit’s pick to win. But Cotto insists quietly that he has faced speed before and defeated it.

“I don’t know a lot about betting. I just go about work to prepare for the fight,” Cotto explained. “When I fought Zab Judah and Shane Mosley everyone talked about the speed being the big advantage against me. But if you saw the fights you didn’t really see the difference being the speed, you know? We had a really equal camp and people are going to see.”

He is the most influential and polarizing figure in the Philippines. Even the level of popularity that Michael Jordan and Julio Cesar Chavez attained in their own countries pale in comparison to the heights he's achieved. Even more amazing, his fame probably doubled in the past year ever since his impressive victory over Oscar De La Hoya. But why are Filipinos so passionate about Manny Pacquiao?

For non-Filipinos it may be difficult to apprehend why an athlete is given such a high degree of attention. But for Filipinos, it's more than just Pacquiao and the sport of boxing. It is the first time that a Filipino has been considered the best in any major sport around the world. For a community with a large number of its young generation still searching for their identity, it has given many a role model that makes them proud of their heritage.