'Pacquiao to devour Cotto' - Peñalosa

MANILA – Filipino veteran prized fighter Gerry Peñalosa is certain that Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will prevail in his Nov. 14 fight against Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.

He said this after watching Pacquiao hold an intense workout at the Gerry Peñalosa Boxing Gym in Mandaluyong City on Monday.

“He was focused, determined and every inch the champion,” Peñalosa said of the pound-for-pound king in his Oct. 19 “Fearless” column on PhilBoxing.com.

He added that Pacquiao did not even look exhausted after training.

“I am every bit confident that the Pacman will devour Miguel Cotto... Manny might be the smaller guy but he was so fast,” he wrote.

Peñalosa even suggested changing the Pacquiao-Cotto fight title of “Firepower” to “The Quick and the Dead.” He continued, “Pacman is the quick one... can Cotto be the ‘dead’?”

Pacquiao left Baguio City on Sunday to continue his training in Manila as Typhoon “Ramil” is threatening to hit Northern Luzon this week.

Stronger than ever

“The People’s Champ” held a workout of more than two hours on Monday, spending 11 rounds in the mitts with Coach Freddie Roach.

ABS-CBN Correspondent Dyan Castillejo noted Pacquiao’s huge improvement since he began training in Baguio City.

He has new combinations plus great and swift movements. His punches even became stronger, especially his left and right hooks.

Pacquiao is also comfortable with his current weight of 149 lbs. This has also contributed to his ability to throw stronger punches these days.

Roach even told ABS-CBN News that his arm “really hurts” because Pacquiao hits so hard. “Manny will knock this guy out,” he said of his ward.

New exercises

Pacquiao, for his part, said: “Happy ako kasi naramdaman ko na malakas ako.”

He added that the routine of conditioning coach Alex Ariza, which included new exercises, really improved his skills.

He is now eating five times a day and his protein intake has been increased. “Eats a lot of fish, meat, veggies, recovery drinks,” noted Ariza.

Pacquiao is expected to continue training at the Gerry Peñalosa Boxing Gym while he is in Manila.

He said in his “Kumbinasyon” column that he will leave for the United States on Oct. 24 to train at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. – With a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Source: abs-cbnnews.com