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 his strength early on,” said Roach as he spoke to mediamen following Wednesday’s official press conference at the MGM Grand.

Roach said Pacquiao should try to get into Cotto’s mind very early in the fight, and make his presence felt the way he did with Dela Hoya, whom he stopped in eight rounds last December, and Hatton, whom he crushed inside two rounds last May.

“We have to set the pace in the first round. We can’t give Miguel the momentum and confidence because he will grow. And if we can put that in his head right away, like most people say, ‘what the f___k is this?’”

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“Just like what we did with Oscar and Hatton. Although Oscar said he can take punches from Manny all day because he doesn’t punch that hard. Then why did he quit?” he said.

Roach said Pacquiao is so ready to fight that after Wednesday’s workout at the IBA Gym he tipped the scales at 144 lb.

It’s been that way the last couple of days here in Vegas, and the great American trainer said Pacquiao should show up for tomorrow’s official weigh-in right under 145 and then climb the ring the following day at 149 lb.

He expects Cotto to show up for the fight at around 160.

“I wish him the best. I know he’s powerful. I respect Miguel Cotto but he’s gonna get knocked out in this one. What round? Before the twelfth,” said Roach.

The undisputed greatest trainer in the history of boxing has once again agreed to give us some inside information on Manny Pacquiao as he prepares for his upcoming bout with Miguel Cotto. Let’s welcome Freddie back to the doghouse.

David Tyler: Hi Fred, nice to see you back at home here in Los Angeles, how are things?

Freddie Roach: Everything is good. We are training hard during the day and I’ve been studying video of Miguel Cotto every evening.

DT: Any distractions?

FR: Only reporters wanting interviews. I just don’t have the time with the big fight so close. Since we are friends, I can give you just a few minutes.

DT: Good enough. How was the training in the Philippines?

FR: As you know, we had to put up with some bad weather but Manny’s training went well. My heart goes out to the many Filipinos that suffered because of the typhoons. It was very sad. Over 350 people lost their lives. Something I will never forget.

DT: Did the Ninja miss any days of training?

FR: No. We trained every day and he was taking the training very serious. I was very surprised that he was in great condition when we started the training?

DT: Why?

FR: Because I was not allowed to talk with Manny while he was in the Philippines and I was here at the WildCard. It made me angry and nervous about his conditioning. He stays in shape year round but I did not expect him to be able to go 10 strong rounds during sparring sessions in the first week.

DT: In our last interview you were mad at Mike Koncz, has the relationship gotten better?

FR: I don’t care about Mike Koncz, I am focused on Manny and having him ready for the fight against Cotto. Manny likes Koncz and that’s OK with me. Mike Koncz handles some business deals with Manny and I handle the boxing end of things. These are Manny’s decisions and I respect his decisions.

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DT: So the rumors about you and Manny splitting are just rumors?

FR: 100%, Manny and I will always be together as a team. He has a lot of respect for me and how I have helped his career. Manny’s success relates to my success and it’s been one of the great Trainer/Fighter relationships in boxing.

DT: Probably the best in the history of boxing.

FR: Thank You.

DT: Fred how does the Ninja look today?

FR : He looks great, we are 99% there and I would say that we are where we want to be at this point. He is sparring 16 straight rounds with no problems. People will be amazed at how strong he will look on fight night. He is really a bigger, faster, stronger version of how he looked against Ricky Hatton.

DT: Wow! How do you see the fight?

FR: Manny will knock out Cotto for certain!

DT: When?

FR: Probably in nine or ten.

DT: Do you think that Cotto will come out in round one and be aggressive?

FR: I think he will run and try to be a counter puncher like Marquez.

DT: Speaking of Marquez, what did you think of his fight with Mayweather?

FR: Come on, you had one guy that was much bigger than the other. Mayweather did not fight, he leaned back and took advantage of his reach and size advantage. A very boring fight and I was not surprised with the PPV numbers. I believe a lot of people, certainly the Filipinos, bought the fight just to see how Mayweather would look against Manny.

DT: Fred the Ninja is smaller than Mayweather, how would you train him to beat Mayweather?

FR: Mayweather is a difficult opponent. He is very good with the defense and he will not take chances in a fight. Manny punches much harder than Marquez and we will constantly be putting pressure on Mayweather, if he gives us the body to hit then we hit the body, we will beat him up because Manny hits harder and he is the faster fighter.

DT: So that’s the strategy against Mayweather?

FR: Beat his body up, yes.

DT: So the strategy against Cotto will be?

FR: If Cotto comes forward then he is knocked out. He is a good counter puncher but if he chooses to go that way then we will constantly be on the attack.

DT: Fred, Manny has been knocked down by body punches and Cotto is known as a body puncher.

FR: Manny was knocked down by body shots when he was 112 lbs. and that was nine years ago. I can guarantee you that will never happen again. Never, ever!

DT: So Cotto will not land any body shots against Manny?

FR: Cotto probably will not land a single punch against Manny, he is just too slow. Manny will be fighting the in and out style which will give him such a huge advantage against a very slow fighter. Manny will tag him hard at some point of the fight and then finish him off. Cotto has been lucky against other fighters who let him off the hook when he was hurt. Manny smells blood and he goes for the kill shot. Manny is in the best condition and stronger than I have ever seen him this close to a fight.

DT: Fred, how about the fact that Cotto knows how to negate his opponents speed. Like he did against Mosley?

FR: Mosley is not in the same class of hand speed that Manny brings to a fight. Cotto will not be able to stop Manny’s speed without being knocked out.

DT: When will team Pacquiao head to Las Vegas.

FR: Monday, November 9th.

DT: Thank you for the time.

FR: David, I want to thank everyone that sent letters, e-mails, phone calls, while we were training in the Philippines. People have been very kind, and I am touched by their concern. I wish I could reach out personally to each and everyone that needs help, especially in the Philippines where things are really bad. It’s a tough time and I hope Manny’s big victory can bring a moment of happiness to the Filipinos as they try and recover from the recent devastation caused by the Typhoons.

DT: Freddie Roach, those are some very kind words for Manny’s fans and his fellow countrymen. May the love of God be with the people of the Philippines. As for team Pacquiao, we wish you all the best on November 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas!

***David Tyler replies to all his e-mails and loves to hear from the readers. Comments, Questions, Suggestions, E-mail David now at: dtyler53@cox.net

Source: doghouseboxing.com

MANILA -- Famed boxing coach Freddie Roach stressed that speed and not power will determine the outcome of the “Firepower” match up between Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto.

Roach, who has been preparing Pacquiao in Baguio City for his toughest fight yet, said he expects Cotto to come out with his guns blazing at the sound of the opening bell on November 14.

“I think Cotto will be aggressive and that he will be looking to show his strength. But once he has been hit, he will revert to being a counter puncher,” the American trainer told Gareth Davies of Telegraph.co.uk.

“Speed will win in the fight; not power,” he added.

Roach, who has studied Cotto’s fighting style even before the Firepower card was officially announced over a month ago, said the key in beating the Puerto Rican champ is taking away his advantages.

“When he fights a south paw he turns left handed a lot more and I expect him to do that with Pacquiao. He is naturally left-handed, clever, and he is dangerous because of that. Our job is to take that away from him,” he said.

Roach added that Pacquiao will have to rattle Cotto’s confidence early in the fight in able to break down the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champ.

“He will get more confidence if Manny lets him have his way early in the fight. The more we let him, the more his confidence will come back. We’ll going to let him know in the very first round what he is up against,” he said.

To prepare his prized ward for the tough grind against the Puerto Rican champ, Roach has lined up against Pacquiao sparring partners who has similar fighting styles with Cotto.

Among these sparring partners are American junior middleweight Shawn Porter and former World Boxing Council lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo.

According to Pacquiao’s conditioning specialist Alex Ariza, Castillo had a hard time figuring the Filipino out during Tuesday’s sparring session.

“[Manny is] so fast, so nimble. Castillo was trying to figure him out. He still has to get used to Manny,” said Ariza.

After sparring with the Mexican champ for 3 rounds, Pacquiao went on for 4 rounds with American junior middleweight Shawn Porter.

“It was Manny’s best sparring yet and he’s on point and went seven rounds easily,” said Ariza.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

As part of his continuing effort to make himself Manny Pacquiao’s sheriff, Michael Koncz sent Coach Freddie Roach sidekick Rob Peters packing.

“Rob, who handles security and parking for Freddie at the Wild Card Gym and is one of his Boston Irish pals, came out here on his own dime or on Freddie’s. Manny didn’t pay a penny for Rob to come to Baguio,” an inflamed source told me Tuesday night.

“But Koncz went into his riot act and insisted that Rob fly back to the States immediately. I guess trainer Freddie decided it wasn’t worth making a big fuss about or upsetting Pacman in the middle of training camp so Rob flew back to Los Angeles.”

My unimpeachable source also informs that Da Pacman read my column which revealed that Koncz said in a Manila TV studio that Roach has become “a needless expense for Manny” and detailed how the fighter has clipped the trainer’s 10 percent fee for the Miguel Cotto bout by $200,000.

“Manny read your column and went beserk,” the source said. “Manny dropped a string of F bombs because he was angry that Koncz’s comments went public. The reaction in Pacland has been 99.9 percent in favor of Coach Roach. Koncz may be an oaf and a despicable cad who shines Bob Arum's shoes but Manny knows full well the special love and reverence his fans have for Coach Roach."

And the action continues in Soapland...

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Pacquiao-drops-F-bombs-Koncz-deports-Roach-sidekick

Call your bookie.

Freddie Roach has become renowned for his spot-on predictions over the last year, and so when a few months ago, soon after the November 14th Pacquiao/Cotto fight was made, Freddie called it as Pac by decision, many took it as written in stone.

Not Freddie though. He's having second thoughts. After checking out where Manny is at in his training, he's now thinking stoppage.

“I picked him to win by decision," Roach told the Inquirer of the Philippines, "but until I started working with him to this camp, the way he’s punching, his speed… we will knock this guy out.”

This comes in the aftermath of the Mayweather/Marquez mismatch, which gave many pause who previously had seen Pacquiao as a lock to beat Cotto. The size difference played such a clear role in Mayweather dominating Marquez, and Mayweather isn't even a big welterweight. Along those lines, Cotto, who is a very big welterweight, may prove just too big for Manny after all.

There is the equalizing issue of Pacquiao's phenomenal handspeed to consider, however, and Roach sees this as the key to victory. “Basically we’re going to have a fast start and we’re not going to give [Cotto] any momentum,” said Roach. “The way Manny is really fighting right now, I guess we’re going to frustrate Cotto with his speed.”

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Rumble/entry/view/36943/roach_changes_his_mind,_says_pacquiao_will_knock_cotto_out

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao to beat Miguel Cotto by decision? Trainer Freddie Roach is having second thoughts.

Impressed by the frenetic pace by which Pacquiao is attacking his preparations for his fight against the Puerto Rican, Roach now believes that the Filipino ring icon has what it takes to knock out the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champion.

“I picked him to win by decision, but until I started working with him to this camp, the way he’s punching, his speed, we will knock this guy out,” Roach said of Pacquiao, who announced over national television Tuesday that he was donating P1 million to relief drives for the victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy.”

“I commiserate with the victims of the tropical storm,” Pacquiao told a news station in Filipino, adding that he will try to fly to Manila on Sunday during a break in training to distribute relief goods to victims of the flash sloods triggered by Ondoy. “We will be giving rice, noodles and other relief goods.”

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 knockouts) will battle Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) over 12-rounds for the Puerto Rican’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Both combatants agreed to fight at a catch weight of 145 lb.

Things picked up in Team Pacquiao’s preparation for that bout with sparring sessions kicking off Tuesday.

Pacquiao’s sparring partners Shawn Porter and Urbano Untillon hit the Philippine summer capital yesterday, with Freddie Roach describing Porter as the one who can really mimic the Puerto Rican Cotto.

Porter, who is bigger than Cotto, moves like the Puerto Rican star. Porter, a middleweight, is listed as 5-foot-7 and owns a record of 10-0 record, with eight wins by knockout.

Antillon, a former Pacquiao sparring partner who owns a victory over the Filipino’s younger brother Bobby, owns an impressive record of 26-1, with 19 knockouts.

“Basically we’re going to have a fast start and we’re not going to give [Cotto] any momentum,” said Roach. “The way Manny is really fighting right now, I guess we’re going to frustrate Cotto with his speed.”

Meanwhile, Jeff Mayweather, uncle of undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr., feels that a Pacquiao loss to Cotto will not rub off the luster from a showdown between the Filipino ring icon and the undefeated American.

“Just as long as he doesn’t lose in a devastating manner it would still be the biggest fight out there,” said Mayweather.
With a report from Francis T.J. Ochoa

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/professional/professional/view/20090930-227554/Pacquiao-will-knock-Cotto-out-says-Roach

Manny Pacquiao pauses for a moment of silence to pray for his godfather-mentor Rod Nazario. Andy Zapata Jr.

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated September 28, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - From his training camp in Baguio City, Manny Pacquiao yesterday dedicated his highly anticipated showdown with Miguel Cotto to his beloved business manager and godfather Rod Nazario who died of lung cancer four days ago.

Pacquiao, now entering his second week of intense training under Freddie Roach, Alex Ariza and Buboy Fernandez, had wanted to use his rest day yesterday as a chance to personally pay his final respects to the 74-year-old Nazario, who stood as godfather to Pacquiao and wife Jinkee.

But the calamity brought about by Typhoon Ondoy, which has caused deaths to many and millions of pesos in damages to property, has prevented the 30-year-old Pacquiao from leaving Baguio either by air or by land.

Instead, he sent a representative to the wake of his business manager from 1995 to 2005, and a very personal note extending his deepest sympathy to the Nazario family which he has learned to love as his own.

“Medyo matamlay pa ako dahil sa pagpanaw ni Rod Nazario (I feel weak because of the death of Rod Nazario),” said Pacquiao of the well-known boxing figure whom the boxer fondly calls “ninong” or godfather.

“Sa araw ng laban, alam kong naroroon siya upang ako ay suportahan kahit wala na siya sa mundo (On the day of my fight, I’m sure he would be there to support me even if he’s gone from this world),” Pacquiao added.

“Bawat suntok na aking bibitawan ay para sa iyo (Each punch I will throw I offer to you). Ninong Rod, may you rest in peace,” added Pacquiao.

The Filipino icon, who has created quite a stir in Baguio since he showed up for camp last Sunday, took a day off yesterday even though he was out running in the morning.

There was an early downpour but Pacquiao insisted that he ran, according to one of his assistants, Roger Fernandez. And when the rains stopped he was out on the road by 7 a.m.

Pacquiao pounded the course for an hour, and was as busy with his abdominal and stretching exercises shortly after. He heard mass at the Baguio Cathedral then had lunch with his entourage at the Manor Hotel of Camp John Hay.

The sparring partners, Shawn Porter and Urbano Antillon, were scheduled to arrive yesterday from Los Angeles, and if they made it through the terrible weather should join Pacquiao in today’s run.

Roach said sparring could begin tomorrow with a couple of rounds, the number gradually increasing by the day until they reach 12 rounds a day and start tapering off two weeks before the fight.

Sparring will be held Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and on these days the Shape Up Gym at the Cooyeesan Hotel, Pacquiao’s official residence in Baguio, would be closed to the public or even the media.

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated September 24, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach is facing the same old problem in training camp: how to prevent Manny Pacquiao from overworking and overdoing things.

“I have to slow him down,” said Roach who presided yet another workout at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City where the Filipino icon is in the thick of training for his Nov. 14 match with Miguel Cotto.

Mediamen, however, were kept away from the gym yesterday. But Mike Koncz, the boxer’s adviser, said the doors will re-open on Oct. 1 when Bob Arum of Top Rank arrives for a three-day visit.

Roach said he lives a life of “negotiations” with Pacquiao in training. When he says it’s done for the day the 30-year-old boxer would always ask for more, probably an extra round or two with the mitts or in sparring.

“I have to pull him back because I want him to stay hungry in training,” Roach would often say. But most of the time, he gives in to the boxer’s request, and this training camp is no different that the previous ones.


Pacquiao blew into town last Sunday while Roach, along with conditioning coach Alex Ariza and Rob Peters, who normally handles the security at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, came in the other day.

“Maybe he wants to impress me,” said Roach, and by the three-time Trainer of the Year’s words, the reigning pound-for-pound champion is doing a very good job.

Barely in his fifth day at the gym, Pacquiao has shown tremendous speed like he’s been training for a month now. The first two days of workout were held at the Wild Card in Parañaque last week.

“Manny is very sharp,” Roach observed.

“He showed me his speed, his footwork. As if he has been training for a month. I’ve never seen a fighter this fast,” said Roach who even said Pacquiao “can fight on Saturday.”

The inner circle of Team Pacquiao held a brain-storming Tuesday evening, mapping out the fightplan for what could be the Filipino’s toughest fight. They plan to train in Baguio for five weeks before flying to the US.

“We are not worried,” said Roach. “We will make sure that Cotto cannot use his weight to his advantage.”

Pacquiao knows the kind of fight he’s getting into, and is not leaving any stone unturned in training.

“Malakas si Cotto (He’s strong),” he said. – With report from Artemio Dumlao