“I think it's the biggest fight of the year. Pacquiao has achieved a status that transcends boxing. Within boxing, I think people started to recognize that he became a modern version of Henry Armstrong, who is one of the great icons of the boxing world. Pacquiao is a phenomenon so anytime he fights, it's big. I don't believe there has been anything this year that has been this anticipated,” stated HBO color commentator Larry Merchant as he shared his thoughts on the much anticipated showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto next Saturday Nov.14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
RC: Larry, can you give us your thoughts on the big fight between Manny and Miguel?
LM: Well, I hear that Pacquiao is about a 2 to1 favorite at this point. To me, it's a virtually even fight because Cotto is probably the best fighter he's ever fought in terms of size and being a natural welterweight who's in his prime. Also, being a high quality fighter at the same time. Pacquiao has not been confronted with that. Cotto is also very versatile in the ring; can fight aggressively or a pure boxer's fight. So I think Cotto has a serious chance in this fight, but Pacquiao is Pacquiao and his left-handed sudden power is not like anything else in the game of boxing. Fighters never see it coming, which is always the most dangerous punch. It's conceivable that either the punch or the fear of the punch landing could work in his favor in some fashion. I think it will be more of a tactical fight early on and let's see what happens when they start hitting each other.
RC: On a personal level, is this the most anticipated fight of the year for you?
LM: Oh, I think it's the biggest fight of the year. Pacquiao has achieved a status that transcends boxing. Within boxing, I think people started to recognize that he became a modern version of Henry Armstrong, who is one of the great icons of the boxing world. Pacquiao is a phenomenon so anytime he fights, it's big. I don't believe there has been anything this year that has been this anticipated.
After so many press conferences, there‘s not much left to say. All the good questions have been asked and answered. And asked again and answered again.
So what else is there? It’s late - just over a week until fight night - and if there’s a good question out there that still needs to be asked, no one has heard it. And it might be too late for second chances.
Besides, it’s not like Miguel Cotto is running for office, trying to sway undecided voters to his side just before the midnight hour. You have to figure by now, all the important questions have been asked and sides picked. Most have been asked a dozen times or more, stuff like, “How are you going to deal with Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao’s speed,?” Or, “What have you been working on in the gym?” Or, “How is your weight situation?”
Good questions, but tired questions.
Cotto is not going to convince anyone to come over to his side, not now, not when it’s this close to the Big Night. He must be tired of repeating himself. But that’s part of the fight game and Cotto will play his role in it, quietly and politely answering even the most foolish questions, the ones that have been asked a dozen times already.
If you’re an American fight fan who questions Manny Pacquiao’s ability to become a crossover star in the United States, consider this:
• He was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week.
• This Monday, he will be on the cover of Time magazine’s Asia edition (as a finalist of the “2009 Time 100,” the publication’s list of the world’s most influential people).
• His mug, partially covered by Nike’s new AW77 Hoodie, is on one of the bigger billboards in downtown San Francisco (as part of the sportswear company’s advertising campaign that includes such celebrity-athletes as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Maria Sharapova).
Still not convinced that the Filipino icon, who challenges Miguel Cotto for the Puerto Rican’s welterweight title on Nov. 14, can become a household name in America?
Allow me to give you one more example of his ever-growing popularity.
During the buildup of WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao, the challenger’s trainer, Freddie Roach, says he’s having fun at the expense of Cotto and his chief cornermen, Joe Santiago.
Cotto “is slower,” and “gets hit so much more” since his 11th-round knockout loss to Antonio Margarito, and “his defense sucks, because he’s training himself,” said Roach.
See what else Roach had to say after the jump.
FanHouse: You’ve been doing an amazing amount of interviews, are these the most you’ve done other than when you were training Mike Tyson?
Freddie Roach: Without a doubt, yes
FH: Is it any more enjoyable?
Roach: Yeah, I’m having fun with it, getting inside Miguel Cotto’s head a little bit, and getting his trainer [Joe Santiago] all upset. It’s a little bit of fun, yeah.
Pound for Pound King Manny Pacquiao returns home to 8CountNews and discusses his big upcoming world title fight against Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao talks about training camp in both the Philippines and Los Angeles. Manny also talks about the recent typhoon that has left so many people suffering, and also touches on his recent appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Check out what else the world’s greatest fighter had to say ONLY on 8CountNews.com!
8CN - Manny thanks for joining 8CountNews.
MP - Thanks for inviting me.
8CN - Manny you trained for half of your camp in the PI and the second part in Los Angeles, talk about both places.
MP -Training camp was good. We trained in the Philippines in the high altitude and it was fantastic. We came back to Los Angeles, and everything is ok.
8CN - There was a horrible typhoon over there. Talk about what you have done to help the people that are suffering.
MP - Exactly, there are thousands of people over there that are suffering. I didn’t want to be distracted while training over there, and I wanted to be focused on training. But we went to the evacuation center and gave away a lot of food and gave some money to the foundation to help the people.
Manny Pacquiao is going through his throwing motion at Yankee Stadium. With easy deliberation, he shows off the form he says he perfected playing elementary school baseball in the dirt-poor southern Philippines before boxing took him over completely. His shoulder slips back, his torso pitches smoothly forward, left hand and arm torquing an imaginary ball into the depths of the air-conditioned players’ cafeteria, where he is waiting to take the field for an announcement. The diamond stud in his ear catches the light.
The baseball pose has a balletic grace at odds with the savage power that the best pound-for-pound professional boxer on earth exhibits in the ring. “Best pound-for-pound” is the mantra intoned with every story about Pacquiao. It sounds strange because he has never been bound by the laws of physics. In the past eight years, he has risen through six weight divisions to win just as many world championships. At the stadium, his promoters have arranged for the Filipino to make official his plan to fight Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto for a seventh title, the welterweight, which has a maximum limit of 147 lb. (67 kg). That is a 40-lb. swing up from the 106 lb. Pacquiao weighed at the start of his career.
Champion Miguel Cotto has a message for challenger Manny Pacquiao as well as those who believe he can be successful during his quest to win a world title in a record seventh, different weight class: “They picked the wrong guy.”
“If he thinks he’s going to reach a seventh title in a seventh different division, he picked the wrong moment, the wrong fighter, and the wrong opponent,” said Cotto, all-but bristling during Thursday’s conference call with the national media.
“If he thinks he’s going to beat Miguel Cotto,” said Cotto, “he’s pretty-much all wrong with that kind of thinking.”
Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) will defend his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title against Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at a catchweight of 145 pounds.
Cotto also addressed comments by Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, who has leveled sharp criticism not only at the champion’s skills, but toward his trainer, Joe Santiago’s, ability to direct the fighter.
LAS VEGAS–In my endless search for experts who can forecast the actual outcome of the Nov. 14 Miguel I’m No Angel Cotto-Manny Pacquiao mega bout, I’ve left no stone unturned.
I’ve spoke to cocktail waitresses, to shoemakers, to cabdrivers and to corporate executives. I’ve even spoken to the manager of a sports betting operation in the murder capital which is bloody Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
I can’t say that I have been casting pearls before swine but late Wednesday night I was introduced to a true expert, a fighter who knows both Miguel and his boxing brother, Jose Miguel Cotto, intimately.
You see Mexican journeyman Ubaldo Hernandez (22-19-2), who weighs in at the Palms Casino Thursday for his Friday night PPV TV co feature against another ex-Miguel Cotto foe named Super Zab Judah, has been knocked out by both Cottos and the end in both bouts came in round seven.
According to ringside reports, Hernandez, a native of Mexico City now fighting out of Ft. Myers, Fl., showed grit and determination on Nov. 22, 2002, when he faced Miguel in the ring.
But grinder Cotto wore him down physically, cutting an eye and endlessly hammering away to the head and body to produce a TKO 7 victory.
FightHype.com was on hand as explosive pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao held an open workout for the media in attendance at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California earlier today. Check out how he looks less than 10 days away from his highly-anticipated clash with Miguel Cotto.
At this point I think most know that Manny Pacquiao is one of the most exciting fighters in combat sports. That’s right, not just boxing, but in all of the sports where two people square off to prove who’s best. If you don’t see it this way, you are 1 of 3 types of people:
1. In denial: You are so for Miguel Cotto on November 14th that you refuse to admit that Manny Pacquiao is not only a formidable opponent, but also an exciting customer at the Cotto counter..
2. New to boxing: You have never really been a boxing fan and are just starting to check it out. You peruse a few websites, and have heard of this “Pac-Man”, but figure he’s over-rated, and you’re not going to give in to the hype.
3. A Moron: You are just in general not too bright. You probably mope through life disagreeing with pretty much whatever people say just to make them angry. You are also probably the person that is always in front of me when I’m driving.
My advice is simple;
Denial Guy: I understand how you feel. I have my favorite fighters as well, and I know you just don’t like anyone challenging your man, but please admit to yourself, this is a great fight, between TWO great fighters. Now go put on your Cotto shirt, cross your fingers, and get ready for a solid fight. Trust me, you will live a happier life if you just give in on this (life might be a bit dramatic, but it will make the week and a half easier).
HOLLYWOOD — The joke among journalists huddled around trainer Freddie Roach Tuesday afternoon at the Wild Card gym was that they were betting on Manny Pacquiao stopping Miguel Cotto either in the first, ninth or 10th round.
Anybody hoping to make a little money on the side knows that Roach has been spot on with his predictions concerning the Filipino champion lately.
And “I put a thousand on the first, ninth and 10th rounds,” said Roach.
Pacquiao hunts for Cotto’s WBO welterweight belt on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
and the cerebral Roach believes his ward will snatch the crown from an opponent pasted to the canvas.
“Cotto gets hit early and once we hit him early, we’ll take him down,” Roach said.
Pacquiao, who is tapering off as fight night approaches, fought eight more rounds of sparring with Raul Beltran and Urbano Atillano and Roach hopes to have just 10 more rounds—six on Thursday and four on Saturday—of simulated matches before Team Pacquiao heads for Las Vegas.
This has blowout written all over it. Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) has split his last two big fights. His blood-letting at the mischievous hands of Antonio Margarito took a heavy toll. His narrow, bloody win against Joshua Clottey seemed to confirm suspicions that the Margarito fight had permanently tainted him.
Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) is sitting on top of the boxing world. He first moved up to lightweight to obliterate over-matched titlist David Diaz.
He then jumped two divisions to welterweight to thoroughly embarrass the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya.
And most recently, he sent chills through the spines of even the most sadistic onlookers with his savage starching of Ricky Hatton.
Cotto appears to be on his way down while Pacquiao is flying higher than the stuff that Joaquin Phoenix appears to be on. However, things aren’t often as they appear. Despite Pacquiao’s recent highs and Cotto’s recent lows, I see this fight as a toss-up.
LOS ANGELES – Miguel Cotto sat on the edge of the ring at a sweltering Pound4Pound Gym on Tuesday, surrounded on one side by dozens of reporters and photographers, and answered questions as sweat trickled down his shirtless torso after a workout. He was largely expressionless.
Cotto is 10 days away from the biggest fight of his life –- against Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas –- but exuded a calm confidence, as if Pacquiao’s amazing run the past year and a half means nothing.
One reporter suggested that Pacquiao would be the toughest opponent in his eight-plus-year career and Cotto politely but firmly took exception.
“I don’t see it that way,” he said in his increasingly good English. “I know the fight is the most-important fight in my career but I don’t know if Manny Pacquiao is the toughest opponent I’ve ever had. We’ll find out in the ring. The guy who is better prepared to win that night is going to win.”
“Manny is strong right now. His right hand is just as strong as his left right now and it's ridiculous. Now I see how he knocked Hatton out. I mean, he hit him with a left hand, but I see how he hurt him with the right hooks. Manny has really been working on that right hook. I'ma tell you, Manny is going to shock a lot of people…Miguel is the bigger, stronger guy, more physical, but I tell you what, Manny's so explosive with his power, it's ridiculous,” stated rising welterweight Rashad Holloway as he talked about his sparring with Manny Pacquiao just days before his own fight tonight on ESPN against Gato Figueroa. Check it out!
Philippines, give it up for your boy Manny Pacquiao because I’ll be damned he just officially conquered Hollywood.
By golly he just turned The Jimmy Kimmel Show into a Filipino Karaoke Extravaganza, and if you ask me, he sure hit that ball out of the ballpark. Pacquiao is definitely a once in a lifetime athlete and personality in the mold of Muhammad Ali. It’s amazing how he owned the stage as if he was simply working the boxing ring. To put it succinctly, like Kanye West, got me singing, “it’s amazing!”
As if the hoards of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities lining up to get their glimpse of the Filipino icon isn’t proof enough of his status as the sport’s most revered fighter, Pacquiao mesmerized his fans once again this time on network television as he flashed his pearly whites, joked with Kimmel and did his rendition of Dan Hill’s classic love song “Sometimes When We Touch”.
The same way that Freddie says he has seen weaknesses in Miguel, we know the weaknesses of Manny. If there's any doubt, just review the eighth round of his second fight with Juan Manuel Marquez,” stated Joe Santiago, trainer of WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, as he responded to recent comments made by world-class trainer Freddie Roach. Confident in their gameplan and their preparations in training, Santiago believes that Pacquiao showed some vulnerabilities in his rematch with Marquez that Cotto will be able to take advantage of come November 14th.
After reviewing footage, it's clear that Marquez did have some of his best success against Pacquiao in the eighth round of their rematch. A straight right hand down the middle from Marquez would open up a cut over Pacquiao's eye that appeared to bother him for the majority of the round. A left hook to the body also looked like it may have got the attention of the Filipino superstar. That being said, is that truly enough to formulate a gameplan to exploit any perceived weaknesses that Pacquiao may have shown in that one round? A couple of right hands that opened up a cut, a body shot or two and some decent uppercuts showed weakness?
I have huge respect for trainer Freddie Roach, but I can’t agree with his prediction that Manny Pacquiao will knock out Miguel Cotto in the first round next Saturday night.
I don’t dispute Pacquiao has incredible speed, and I accept that he carries fantastic power, but even so, one look at Pacquiao’s record will tell you that he seldom wins fights in the first round. The last time he achieved that was more than seven years ago, when he was still a junior-featherweight. That is 17 fights and 130 rounds ago!
That’s when he stopped Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym of Thailand two minutes 46 seconds into the first round. His previous first-round stoppage came in June 2000 against South Korea’s Seung-Kon Chae, then an unbeaten fighter.
In his days before becoming a world champion, Pacquiao scored four first-round KOs for a career tally of six. But his best round for finishing an opponent is the second, which he’s achieved seven times.
As the 2nd episode of HBO 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto finished up, it is evident that Manny Pacquiao is not focused and enjoying his life as a celebrity more than being a boxer. Miguel on the other hand is focused, hungry, and a great family man.
When you get a glimpse of some of Manny Pacquiao’s training and sparring you can see his lack of focus. Last episode you could already see his unraveling by disobeying roach on training location. This episode you see him getting toyed with in sparring against Shawn Porter and Jose Luis Castillo, Pacquiao was getting beat up on the ropes and hit clean.
Roach had to scold Pacman for his lazy performance as the red faced Pacquiao could barely look in Freddie’s eyes out of shame.
Another moment when you see Manny act out of character was when he is doing his conditioning training with Alex Ariza, Manny tells Ariza “Shut the F— up Alex” and keeps using the curse word while laughing at him. The lack of respect for Ariza and Roach was captured by the HBO crew.
This came as a shock since Pacquiao is a devout Christian and rarely cursed before.
When I spoke with jr. middleweight prospect Shawn Porter on Halloween day, he had just gone 4 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, the man who many consider to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. “Manny is the man,” stated Porter, who's grown accustomed to leaving the Wild Card Gym and seeing hundreds of people waiting in the parking lot for a chance to meet their hero.
Having witnessed firsthand the superstar status of Pacquiao, Porter considers it business as usual for the sparring partner of such an iconic figure. “It was like a scene from Coming To America when a row of limos were going down the one-way street with escorts,” Porter recalled of his time in the Philippines. Describing the experience as being surreal, Porter thoroughly enjoyed his time there. “My time in the Philippines was nice,” he commented.
After twelve solid rounds of sparring at the Wild Card Gym on Saturday, pound-for-pound phenomenon Manny Pacquiao looked at conditioning expert Alex Ariza, smiled and said “easy.”
That’s how Pacquiao, chasing a world title in a record-breaking seventh weight division against WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto felt after taking on undefeated Shawn Porter (10-0, 8 KO’s) over five rounds, four rounds with tough welterweight Rashad Holloway (11-1-1, 5 KO’s) and three rounds with super featherweight Raymund Beltran (22-4, 14 KO’s).
Conditioning expert Alex Ariza told us “I stake my reputation on this. Manny is going to be bigger and stronger than even Cotto.”
He said Pacquiao weighed in at 148 ¾ pounds prior to sparring and should have no problems at all in making the catch-weight of 145 pounds.
By Doug Fischer
ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE CREDIT?
Are you going to criticize Mayweather and say he beat up a Hand Picked guy, or are you going to give PBF credit for dominating a guy who you said would be competitive? — Lance
Are you going to tell me that Mayweather DIDN’T …
I thought the former five-division titleholder controlled every second of every minute of every round against one of the sport’s elite fighters. However, I never lost sight of the fact that Marquez is a lightweight, which put Mayweather’s win in its proper perspective.
As a comeback fight it was a tremendous victory that demonstrated that Mayweather hasn’t lost any of the speed, reflexes and defensive prowess that made him one of the top fighters of the past two decades. As excellent as Marquez was at 126, 130 and 135 pounds, though, he was nothing special at welterweight.
A victory over Marquez at welterweight should not catapult any fighter up THE RING’s 147-pound and pound-for-pound rankings, but that’s just what happened to Mayweather in this week’s updated RING Ratings.
To paraphrase Roy Jones Jr. — who preceded Mayweather as the American boxer everyone overrated because of uncanny athletic ability and careful matchmaking — I think my colleagues at THE RING “musta forgot” that Marquez is a lightweight (even though he holds the magazine’s 135-pound title).
That’s the only way I can fathom THE RING editorial board’s ranking Mayweather No. 2 at welterweight, which displaced Miguel Cotto, and No. 2 in the magazine’s pound-for-pound Ratings, a spot held by Marquez.
I disagree with both RING ratings, particularly Mayweather’s divisional placement.
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