Dundee, who has worked with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in fights promoted by Top Rank’s Bob Arum, has recently talked with Pacquiao’s promoter where he stressed that the Puerto Rican welterweight champion has got what it takes to stop the Filipino boxing icon.
“If I had to pick anybody in the world to fight Pacquiao, it would be Cotto because Cotto has the best chance of anybody to beat him because of his physical power and that strong left hook,” said Arum, quoting Dundee as saying, in an interview with ESPN.com.
Arum and Dundee met at Cotto’s camp in Tampa recently when the former visited the fighter who in the thick of preparations for his much awaited Nov. 14 clash with Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Arum also visited Pacquiao in his Baguio then joined him this week in Los Angeles where Pacquiao has shifted his camp to trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood.
He was so impressed with the Filipino fighter’s work ethic.
“I think, in general, both guys looked very, very good,” said Arum. “Cotto looked strong. He works hard for two hours. He does all his sparring. He’s in tremendous shape. I know Cotto works hard, but in contrast to Pacquiao, it looks like he’s taking a vacation.”
“Pacquiao goes for, like, four or five hours. It’s amazing. They train differently. Pacquiao is so work-intensive. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said Arum.
Arum also noticed some other differences between the camps.
“In Pacquiao’s camp, there is no question who the boss is and that’s Freddie,” Arum said. “In Miguel’s camp there’s no question who the boss is either, and that’s Miguel. They’re different guys, different fighters.”
Turning on to his fighters, Arum said Cotto is extremely confident. “You know that he’s not saying he’s confident without really being confident. He is sincerely confident. Some guys say it, but they aren’t. Some guys have doubts. I’ve been around so long that I can tell. Manny’s confidence goes without saying.”
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