Showing posts with label PACQUIAO COTTO 24/7 EPISODE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PACQUIAO COTTO 24/7 EPISODE. Show all posts
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 14 Nov 2009
Las Vegas, NV:- Top Rank held the weigh in for the gladiators fighting tomorrow at the MGM Grand Garden Arena moments ago.
Miguel Cotto, the Boricua from Puerto Rico came in right on the nose:- 145lbs. Pacquiao, the challenger was a pound less at 144 lbs.
The rest of the weigh results are as follows:
Troy Rowland -- 159lbs vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -- 160lbs
Yuri Foreman -- 154 lbs vs Daniel Santos -- 154 lbs
Jesus Soto-Karass -- 147.5lbs vs Alfonso Gomez -- 146.5lbs
Martin Vierra -- 152lbs vs Rodrigo Garcia -- 150lbs
Eilon Kedem -- 119.5lbs vs Eden Sonsona -- 121lbs
Mustafah Johnson -- 158lbs vs Matt Korobov -- 160.5
Ernie Marquez -- 112lbs vs Richi Mepranum -- 112lbs
Lupe Guzman -- 134.5lbs vs Abner Cotto -- 133lbs
The event could have been “uneventful’ if not for the sharp verbal exchanges between Freddie Roach and Joe Santiago, Santiago said something that did not sink in too well with Roach and the Wildcard Gym master charged towards Santiago. But, as they go in these events, cooler heads prevailed and the two trainers were separated.
At this writing, we are still looking for people who heard what was said and as soon as we get to the meat of that exchange, we will post it in this site.
Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-29618.html
There was no need to pay by the pound, in the weigh-in to tomorrow night’s Vegas superfight between welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Faced with the threat of having to pay a cool million for every pound over the 145 lb. catchweight limit, Cotto (34-1, 27KO) managed to keep his money in his pocket. The soft-spoken yet ferocious Puerto Rican weighed in at 145 on the nose, one pound heavier than Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37KO), who hit the scales at a career heaviest yet shredded 144 lb.
The bout tops tomorrow evening’s highly anticipated pay-per-view, which airs live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada (Saturday, HBO PPV, 9PM ET/6PM PT, $54.95).
Despite the compromised weight limit, the fight is still billed as a welterweight affair, with Cotto’s alphabet strap on the line. The bout will be the Puerto Rican’s first in Vegas since suffering the lone defeat of his career, an 11th round stoppage at the hands of Antonio Margarito in last summer’s thriller.
Cotto has since won two straight, including a 12-round gut check against Joshua Clottey at Madison Square Garden this past June. In that fight, Cotto suffered a potentially fight-ending gash over his eye, but fought bravely for more than nine rounds, closing strong to escape with a close and debated split decision victory.
There isn’t a fighter in the sport on a greater roll than Manny Pacquiao. Amidst his current 10-fight win streak have come title wins in three separate weight classes, including his two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton this past May. The win made the insanely popular Filipino the only fighter in boxing history to capture lineal world championships in four separate weight classes.
A win on Saturday allows Pacquiao to further add to the record books, as he will become the first fighter ever to capture a major title in seven weight classes.
Three televised preliminary bouts precede the pay-per-view main event. The only other major title bout of the evening will see two-time junior middleweight champ Daniel Santos defend against unbeaten Yuri Foreman.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. moves up in weight, but not in competition, as he appears in the co-feature bout against Troy Rowland in a middleweight bout scheduled for ten rounds.
The one preliminary bout met with considerable anticipation is an expected welterweight shootout between former Contender star Alfonso Gomez and fringe contender Jesus Soto Karass. A regional title is at stake in their scheduled 10-round affair, though Soto Karass will have to sweat off ½ pound in order to be eligible to vie for the vacant strap. Gomez comfortably made weight, coming in at a surprisingly chiseled 145 ½ lb.
Top Rank Inc. serves as the sole promoter for the year’s most anticipated event, which saw an enormous turnout at the weigh-in, with both fighters well represented.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23444
Manny Pacquiao, who meets Puerto Rico's favourite fighting son Miguel Cotto in Nevada, creates the doubt because in the brilliance of his fighting and the force of his spirit he has made a compelling argument he is not just the most mesmerising performer in boxing, but all of sport.
This might prove a financial reality soon enough if, as expected, the Pacman engulfs the splendid Cotto and sets up with maximum fanfare potentially the fight of next year and possibly many others against the superb, if not easy to like, ring craftsman Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
Meanwhile, promoter Bob Arum argues that tonight's drama in the MGM Garden Arena has an integrity and a potential all of its own. Yes of course, he would say this.
It is also true that notwithstanding his distinguished service on the late Robert Kennedy's anti-mob investigating committee, Arum is notorious even in the cynical old vineyard of pugilism for his admission that some of his words need to be weighed more carefully than others.
When he was once told that his latest statement was in direct contradiction to one he made the day before, he shrugged and said, "Yesterday I was lying." But then if Arum, like most of his trade, can be cavalier with the truth when the challenge is selling tickets and pay-per-view buys, he is nobody's fool – and certainly far too intelligent to expose himself to an avalanche of post-fight mockery.
It is in this light that we should receive his claim that Pacquiao-Cotto might just prove the most eviscerating collision since the one at Caesar's Palace between Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns 24 years ago. "Yes," said Arum, "this fight could turn out the same way. If Cotto is aggressive enough, it could be Hagler-Hearns all over again."
Talk about loading up expectation. Hagler-Hearns may not have been the greatest fight any of us have ever seen – the verdict here would be that as an all-round test of nerve and will and ability, Hearns-Sugar Ray Leonard, four years earlier, was superior – but as a sensation, a firestorm, a shooting star burning its way across the desert sky it was, surely, unsurpassable in one lifetime.
The sight of Hearns leaning back against the ropes and pounding the head of Hagler repeatedly, and then the awesome refusal of Hagler to stop for a second in his relentless pursuit, is unforgettable for anyone who ever saw it. The great screenwriter and boxing aficionado Budd – On the Waterfront – Schulberg was a ringside companion and memorable too was his reaction to this onslaught on the senses.
"I never expected to see anything so intense outside of war," said the man who wrote the scene that had Marlon Brando, as the failed fighter, telling his corrupt brother, played by Rod Steiger, "I coulda been a contender."
When Arum talks of Pacquiao and Cotto walking in the steps of Hagler and Hearns he goes to the heart of boxing's most thrilling but sometimes most troubling appeal, the prospect of men going to their absolute limits.
How far did the beaten Hearns go? This is him on the desperate impulse that carried him so ferociously into a fight that would, and perhaps only could, go just three rounds: "Man, that was a night. I knew I had to go to my limit. I had to gamble. But when I lost the gamble I didn't have any regrets. I made an honest decision about my best chance of winning – and winning well.
"Maybe I should have stayed away from him [Hagler] more, used my reach, tried to outbox him. But I knew how strong he was, how he would keep coming at me and I decided I would go for him. I would hang out there, on the edge.
"I'd worked so hard for the fight. When I got into the ring, I didn't believe I could go 12 rounds with a fighter as strong as Hagler. I felt I had to get him out of there. I don't blame Manny [trainer Steward] - we had our rows but they were never about how good he was at his job.
"Manny tried to rein me in. Unfortunately, you cannot get your time back. If I could have done, I would have fought Hagler differently. I would have trusted my legs a little more, tried to fight my way through that feeling of tiredness. I would box him, use my reach, attempt to drive him crazy with frustration. That was always going to be the strategy. I'd fought the fight a thousand times in my head. But then the bell rings and you are in reality.
"People still tell me that was the greatest fight they ever saw, even though it went less than three rounds, and that they will remember it when they forget my other fights against such men as Sugar Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez and Roberto Duran, all great fighters. Me, I just wish I could have it again."
Boxing, of course, can never get enough of such fights, and maybe the yearning has never been greater in an era when someone like Manny Pacquiao emerges part hero, part saviour.
Tonight, certainly, he pursues rather more than Cotto's WBO welterweight crown. He seeks to confirm himself as boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter, and one of the champions of the ages.
It means, surely, that it is no insult to the beautiful game of Brazil, or the ambitions of the new England, to suggest that one desert wind may well blow somewhat forcefully into another at some point in the next 24 hours.
Is football finally rising above the diving game?
David Ngog's dive last week was on the face of it more bleak evidence of football's cynical tendency. However, there is maybe at least a little encouragement for the belief that growing nausea in the face of such behaviour is beginning to have some effect.
Certainly Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, despite the growing extremity of his situation, implied strongly that the point saved against Birmingham had not exactly bestowed heroic status on the young player who had made it possible.
Jamie Carragher also suggested he might be having a word with the miscreant who had otherwise performed well under considerable pressure.
Such reaction goes against a tide which once seemed irresistible, a great weight of evidence that the imperative to win at all costs had become absolutely paramount. Also cause for optimism is reports that the football authorities have finally grasped that institutionalised cheating is something that can only be tolerated at long-term risk to the game's popularity, at least among those who remember that it is supposed to be about sport and not mass prejudice.
The Eduardo affair, which was resolved in so unsatisfactory a fashion in legal niceties, may have been something of a fiasco. But perhaps it did indeed trigger a little bit of thought and, who knows, a hint of conscience.
Relentless spectacles can ask too much of their showmen
The tragic end of German goalkeeper Robert Enke on a railway line near Hanover reminds us that if professional sport is often a circus, some of the performers are at least as vulnerable as any of the inhabitants of what we choose to call real life.
In fact, when you think about the heightened dramas, the sudden highs and lows, the casualty rate in Enke's profession must be said to be remarkably low.
This, however, does not include all the private fears and suffering and the contributing extra stress in cases of mental illness, that go into maintaining a place in what we are maybe sometimes excused in thinking is nothing so much as an opulent playpen.
It is, anyway, perhaps another reason to nod our agreement that if the glory and the rewards of professional sport have never been so pronounced, nor has the clamour been so great. Enke's tragedy, obviously, could have happened in any walk of life. However, the need to always present a strong and invulnerable front might not have been quite so great if he hadn't been required to be constantly on show. It is at least maybe something to reflect on the next time the howls of derision come rolling in from the terraces.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/james-lawton-pacquiao-can-take-final-step-towards-clinching-the-most-thrilling-fight-of-all-time-1820453.html
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will be relentless in his quest for his place in boxing history by knocking out his opponent in round one of his Firepower match with Miguel Cotto. The Puerto Rican boxer must survive round one to stay safe in the game.
Miguel Cotto must survive the first round of his 'Firepower' match with Manny Pacquiao to stay in the game. If the Puerto Rican boxer survives the initial assault of the pound-for-pound king, he will have a good fighting chance of prolonging the fight but he must find his mark in the succeeding rounds or Pacquiao will be relentless in his pursuit of his much-desired seventh win in different weight classes.
Round one is critical in the 'Firepower' match as it will dictate the tempo of the fight. Pacquiao needs a window to pursue his ambition to get rid of the Puerto Rican boxer in the first round as predicted by his trainer. Once he sees an opening, Pacquiao is expected to throw his punches in rapid succession while keeping his distance from Cotto.
If Pacquiao fails to finish Cotto in round one, as many boxing fans believe he won't, his trainer and coach, Freddie Roach will have to activate Plan B which calls for a sustained attack on Cotto while the pound-for-pound king maintains safe distance from the Puerto Rican hard puncher.
Pacquiao is expected to dance around Cotto but will be watchful for a rare opening while Cotto is busy with his defences from the lightning speed of Pacquiao.
Pacquiao's fight plan calls for him to stay in the middle of the ring and avoid being trapped in the rope and corners of the ring. Cotto is expected to throw his dynamite power punch once he sees his target at close range. His much talked about power will send Pacquiao rolling on the canvas once he is hit by Cotto.
Round one is critical because it can make or break Pacquiao's dream of being placed in history books as the first boxer to win seven times in seven different weghts.
Pacquiao's chance of winning the fight in later rounds is lesser than a win in the first round or at least in the first four rounds of the fight while Cotto's chances are greater in the middle or later rounds.
The popular Filipino boxer will collide Saturday with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas Nevada. Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions is promoting the fight which will be shown on worldwide television and is available on pay-per-view.
Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/282080
LAS VEGAS — Miguel Cotto didn't need to be reminded what his role is supposed to be against Manny Pacquiao.
Not after signing for half the money Pacquiao is getting paid. Not after having to agree to fight nearly a kilo (2 pounds) under his normal weight just to get the fight. Not after spending months training for a fight a lot of people in boxing don't really believe he has much chance of winning.
Promoter Bob Arum took time at the final pre-fight press conference to remind him anyway.
"Psychologically he knows it and I know it," Arum said. "In this fight he is not the star of the show."
No, the star of the show is boxing's latest sensation, a mild mannered Filipino who gave Oscar De La Hoya such a beating he quit on the stool and destroyed Ricky Hatton with a single punch. Pacquiao is the face of this event, the boxer who brings the Philippines to a virtual standstill every time he steps into the ring.
But Cotto has a country behind him, too. Puerto Rico has long been a breeding ground of top fighters, and this fight is probably the most anticipated in his country since Felix Trinidad won a disputed decision over De La Hoya a decade ago.
Almost lost in the Manny mania that has made this perhaps the most anticipated fight of the year is that Cotto has some serious credentials of his own.
"I don't want to be Manny Pacquiao," Cotto said. "I just want to be Miguel Cotto."
For a long time that was good enough. Cotto was a rising star himself, a relentless puncher who won two titles, knocked almost everyone in front of him out, and had no trouble selling out Madison Square Garden.
But along came Antonio Margarito and Cotto found himself on the receiving end of the kind of beating he usually handed out. He fought valiantly before finally being stopped in the 11th round of a brutal slugfest, a devastating loss tempered later only by the suspicion that Margarito had plaster inside his gloves like he did in his next fight against Shane Mosley.
"When things about Margarito came out after the fight it made me feel better about the situation," Cotto said.
He came back to win a tuneup fight, then had to rally to beat Joshua Clottey by split decision in the Garden in June. Pacquiao was there at ringside to watch a bloodied Cotto barely pull off a win to retain his piece of the welterweight title, and it wasn't long before negotiations for their fight began.
Though Pacquiao is careful not to say so, his trainer, Freddie Roach, believes Cotto is not the fighter he once was.
"I've studied the tapes of Cotto before and after the Margarito fight and he's not the same person," Roach said. "It's a good time to fight Miguel Cotto."
Oddsmakers think so, too, making Pacquiao a 2½-1 favourite in a fight that will be held at a catch weight of 66 kilograms (145 pounds), something Cotto had to agree to if he was going to get the fight. Pacquiao wanted the weight concession because he is the smaller fighter, having made his way up from 48 kilos (105 pounds), and fought Hatton at 63½ kilos (140 pounds).
Cotto insists he has put the Margarito fight behind him and is even better than he was before, but there are not only questions about his confidence, but his conditioning. He parted ways with his longtime trainer this year and has been using 32-year-old Joe Santiago, who has no experience in big fights, for the biggest fight of his career.
Pacquiao, whose marathon sparring sessions are legendary, believes that his preparation and his corner will both be factors.
"It's a big help to have a great trainer in your corner," he said.
There aren't as many questions about Pacquiao on the eve of the fight, though there are those in boxing who say he may be getting too much credit for his last two fights because De La Hoya was clearly past his prime and Hatton may have never been ready for prime time.
But the body of his work - six titles in six weight classes over the years - and the fact that Roach has managed to turn his right hand into as big a factor as his left hook make Pacquiao dangerous to anyone in front of him. He not only seems to have carried his speed with him as he moved up in weight, but the punch is there too, as evidenced by the tremendous left hook that floored Hatton in the second round of his last fight.
"We believe we have the advantage in both speed and power," Pacquiao said. "My speed is still there and if you have speed you can create power."
Cotto has power of his own - 27 knockouts in 36 fights attests to that - and neither fighter thinks much about defence. The promise of a lot of action led to a quick sellout in the arena and promoters believe they will do strong business on pay-per-view.
The promise of at least $6.5 million helped sell Cotto on the fight. But the promise of greatness should he win means even more.
Because he knows that a win against Pacquiao might just make him boxing's next big star.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gWVXjzytVuaw38dggf-VzZ0gA0xA
Published: 9:18PM GMT 12 Nov 2009
Glory awaits should Pacquiao defeat the teak-tough Puerto Rican. Pacquiao, already a major crossover star in Asia who intends to move into politics next year, will become the first boxer ever to win world titles in seven divisions.
Roach added that Cotto "will not be the same" since suffering an 11th-round technical knockout against Antonio Margarito in July 2008. "A fighter is never the same following a knockout like that. It takes time to recover from it. Our guy is getting him at the right time."
Roach, whom Pacquiao admits is like a father-figure to him, is adamant that the boxing community should celebrate Pacquiao's greatness.
"Henry Armstrong was the last to do that kind of thing," Roach told The Daily Telegraph. "Manny's a throwback. He's unbelievable. People ask me 'When are we going to see the next Manny Pacquiao?' We're not, not in my lifetime, or in your lifetime going to see another Manny Pacquiao. He's a one-off.
Fighters like him don't come around that often.
"Manny saved my life eight years ago. He walked into this gym, and an hour later I was his new trainer. A month later, he won his first world title [at flyweight] against Ledwaba. He's a guy who still wants to work so hard, and that makes it so much more enjoyable."
"Manny now has great power, great speed. And he's now a very dangerous guy. He's a machine. You wind him up, you let him go. He's so different now. He's gone from 112lbs to 147lbs and yet he is still being competitive. It's incredible."
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/6555917/Manny-Pacquiao-will-send-Cotto-packing-says-trainer.html
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 13 Nov 2009
With both pronouncing they’re ready, Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto brace themselves for their 12-round welterweight championship fight Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, the reigning International Boxing Organization junior-welterweight champion, is eyeing Cotto’s welterweight diadem in the hope to becoming the only man in the entire planet to wear a seventh crown in seven weight divisions.
Cotto, on the other hand, will not only be defending his 147-pound championship, but, likewise, will try to deny Pacquiao the honor of making boxing history and, at the same time cast doubt on the Filipino’s grip of the title pound-for-pound king in the sport of sweet science.
Last Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) Pacquiao, ‘Pacman’ to the boxing world who is also the reigning ‘Fighter of the Year’ and box office king, and Cotto, the ‘Bocicua’ three-time world champion, met for the final press conference where they were both handed the Keys to the City by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in the presence Bob Arum, president of the promoting Top Rank, their handlers and many of their followers.
Pacquiao, being the challenger, was the first of the two boxers to speak to the press and, as usual, begun by thanking God, the media and various other organizations present at the conference.
“This fight is the most important fight in my boxing career, he said signifying the importance of the fight in his 14-year boxing career that started as a 108-pound fighter and climbed to 145-pound, the catch-weight agreed upon for the bout.
“If I win this fight I think it’s another history in boxing”, he said as be brought laughter from his audience when he thanked his chief trainer Freddie Roach, whom he said he will now call “Master.”
“Of course I have to thank Freddie Roach, my master… my master in boxing. Before I call him coach Freddy, but now I call him my master,” he said before proceeding on how he trained, first in Baguio City in the Philippines where he spent the first five weeks of preparations, then at the Roach-owned Wild Gym in Hollywood then in Las Vegas.
Commenting on the exchange of harsh words between his camp and that of Cotto, particularly between roach and the Puerto Rican trainer Jose Santiago, Pacquiao said he has not been bothered by all those, adding that he will let his fists do the talking atop the ring.
Cotto, also in his usual self, kept his comments short and to the point. “The only left to say is that there is only 3 days left, and we have worked hard, we have worked like never before.”
“I feel good, I’m in excellent condition and it’s going to be a great night for all boxing fans in general, but specially for the Latino fans, and most of all the Puerto Ricans. We’re prepared for everything and specially to win,” he averred.
“The WBC voted unanimously from all around the world to recognize this as one of the greatest fights in recent years”, the young Suliman declared. “The WBC diamond belt was voted and produced for the winner of this fight as recognition of the greatest fighter of today.”
“It is not a new title, it is not a new championship, it is not a new confusing thing, it is just a trophy for the winner of Saturday night. The winner will take home the belt, it has 600 diamonds, so they can give 600 engagement rings to some girls,” he concluded Sulaiman drawing laughter from the fighters and crowd.
Roach, in his turn to speak also kept his comments short and polite stating they had a great training camp and thanking all members of his camp.
Santiago was a bit livelier when he remarked: “Miguel Cotto is in excellent shape and we hope our opponent is as well. There’s only 3 more days until the fight, and a great victory for Puerto Rico. Manny good luck, you’re going to need it.”
Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-29498.html
Fri, 13 Nov 2009
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents a preview of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight title fight, which takes place Saturday, November 14, in Las Vegas, and will be televised around the world, including on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S.
This is a different kind of preview, however, from that offered almost everywhere else, in that we do not limit ourselves to the question of which fighter stands the best chance of winning this fight in the ring.
We open by noting the damage suffered by the sport of boxing as a whole by placing such major fights on pay-per-view. We play an excerpt of a media conference call held prior to the November 7 Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers mixed martial arts fight, which was telecast live in the U.S. on CBS and was viewed in 5.46 million households, with Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. He opined why boxing is no longer on network television in the U.S., and why MMA is.
We next play an excerpt from the November 8 edition of The Boxing Truth Radio (http://www.theboxingtruth.com/), hosted by Ricardo Lois and John Chavez, where Eddie Goldman explained the global economic, political, and social factors which work in Pacquiao's favor. This type of analysis is essential to understanding the historical context in which this fight is taking place, and also what factors other than who deserves to win might play a role in the outcome of the fight.
In the longest segment on this edition of No Holds Barred, we discuss this fight with our correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. He is of the opinion that Cotto has the best chance of legitimately winning this fight. Cotto, he argues, unlike Pacquiao, is a true welterweight whose power and size should have him prevail. He also dismisses Pacquiao's dominant wins over Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya as victories over shot fighters, which the 28-year-old Cotto is far from being.
We discuss these views, as well as the opposing arguments which favor Pacquiao, regarding both his skills and power as a fighter and the advantages he has with the boxing establishment. While Charles is fairly certain that Cotto will win, Eddie is not, so various possible scenarios for this fight are outlined.
We also discuss what possible fights lie ahead for both men, including the likelihood of the winner facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and these next fights taking place in a major league baseball stadium. And we explain why we have no problem with people watching this fight for free online, even on so-called pirate streams. But we all agree that whichever fighter wins Saturday night, the real winner will be promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both men.
Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-29495.html
Overconfidence kills. Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao will enter the ring oozing with confidence that he will win in his 'Firepower' fight with popular Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto. But overconfidence is another thing and it could spell defeat
Freddie Roach is confident that his ward will surprise the crowd with a first round knock out as he predicted earlier. Pacquiao's conditioning expert Alex Ariza says that the pound-for-pound king is perfectly conditioned and ready to confront his opponent. All members of Team Pacquiao are confident that the Filipino boxing idol is in his peak and ready to square off with the powerful Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.
The entire Pacquiao team is confident of a Pacquiao victory, But overconfidence kills. And that may just happen on fight night. Pacquiao could lose the fight due to overconfidence.
Team Pacquiao believes that Cotto is an easy target as the Puerto Rican boxer is known to be a slow foot and stationary boxer when inside the ring. Cotto relies on his power. And if he catches Manny Pacquiao with his fully charged power in the early rounds, the Filipino boxer could find himself in dreamland as Cotto tries to leave him in that state for good.
Pacquiao has been conditioned by his coach to spot opportunities for a first round knock out. Certainly, he will try to please his trainer and go for it when the door opens up for him to deliver his powerful left hook. If he is successful in his first round attempt, he will make his coach the happiest man on earth.
Joaquin Henson of Philstar.com says: 'If Pacquiao is looking beyond Cotto and conjuring visions of a megabuck showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a third meeting with Marquez, he should wake up to present reality. He can’t afford to take Cotto lightly, no matter if his entourage continues to belittle the Puerto Rican for being a bleeder, slow and easy to hit. What Pacquiao shouldn’t do is to give Cotto some momentum in the fight. Pacquiao should dictate tempo from the start and take away Cotto’s'
Only a few can possibly dispute Henson's observation that overconfidence is one of Pacquiao's weaknesses. In particular Team Pacquiao sees Cotto as a slow foot fighter and an easy target for the speedy Pacquiao. But then again overconfidence kills and Team Pacquiao should remind the Filipino boxing icon about its repercussions.
The Filipino boxing superstar will face Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico in their 'Firepower' match this Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. At stake is Miguel Cotto's WBO welterweight belt.
The fight will be telecast worldwide and available on pay-per-view.
Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/282046
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 13 Nov 2009
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- A World Boxing Council (WBC) show in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) affair. This apparently what transpired during the final press conference for the “Pacquiao vs Cotto: Firepower” at the Hollywood Theater in MGM Grand, here, November 11 afternoon.
It happened after WBO president Paco Valcarcel, who was supposed to join the presidential table as originally scheduled, did not show up.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Valcarcel, Cotto’s compatriot, is expected to plane in November 12 and will be the one to award the WBO championship welterweight belt for the winner on Saturday.
In a stroke of fate, WBC executive director Mauricio Sulaiman, whose name was listed as “vice president of WBC" in the original “final press conference running order”, surfaced toting a WBC championship belt laced with 600 diamonds.
Sulaiman, son of WBC top honco Don Jose Chagnon, handed the belt to HBO pay-per-view chief Mark Taffet, to be displayed on the table but Manny Pacquiao grabbed it in jest and placed in front of his table.
“This WBC diamond championship belt will be awarded to the winner (between Pacquiao and WBO welterweight ruler Miguel Angel Cotto),” beamed Sulaiman. “That means that whoever will get it, he can give 600 diamonds to 600 girls.”
When both Cotto and Pacquiao posed for press photographers, Pacquiao carried the WBC diamond belt while Cotto raised his own belt vertically.
Sulaiman said it was a perfect occasion to announce the awarding of the belt, the first time in the annals of world boxing championships, although Cotto’s belt is the one up for grabs in a 12-round duel on November 14.
It was part of the WBC project dubbed “WBC Asia Relief Fund—Philippine Disaster”, the WBC’s “modest support to the great people of this extraordinary boxing country (Philippines)”, which was recently slammed by deadly typhoon “Ketsana” that killed hundreds of people and rendered thousands of families homeless.
It is selling commemorative key-rings of the first WBC Diamond Belt to raise funds.
Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-29493.html
Nov 12, 2009 10:16 PM | By Julia Beffon
From what I've seen of the bout, it was dire. Many of the fights I've seen so far this year have fallen into that category. With the heavyweight division the preserve of the giant Klit-schko brothers, who refuse to fight each other because it would upset their mum, and the unlovable Floyd Mayweather Jr having to come out of retirement to show Juan Manuel Marquez how thin the middle divisions are, there are few international fights that have been worth staying up for.
Locally, too, there are few fighters who capture the public imagination, with the likes of Cassius Baloyi coming to the end of their careers.
This week, however, there is some really good boxing on the cards. Tonight (SS5 at 11pm), Lovemore Ndou, a former South African favourite now fighting out of Britain, tries to resurrect his career against Matthew Hatton. Considering that it's taking place in Stoke, I fear the ageing Ndou is being offered up as cannon-fodder to Ricky's little brother.
The early hours of Sunday (SS2 at 4am) should cough up the real deal: Manny Pacquiao against Miguel Angel Cotto for the latter's welterweight title, although it will be fought at a catchweight 145 pounds.
Pacquiao is a modern-day legend in boxing, rated the sixth wealthiest active sportsman and on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world this year.
He's starred in movies, makes millions from endorsement deals and has run for the Filipino parliament, all interspersed with the occasional visit to the US to beat the bejesus out of whichever fool is willing to step into the ring with him.
Pacman is a hero to non-boxing purists like myself, who secretly prefer to see a fighter with heart rather than skill. He's won titles in six weight divisions and the list of his victims reads like a who's who of the best of the lighter divisions of recent years: Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and even the Golden Boy himself, Oscar de la Hoya.
Pacquiao comes from the breed of fighters, like Kostya Tszyu and the late Arturo Gatti, whose motto seems to be: I'll win because, no matter how many times you knock me down, I'll get up again and knock you out.
Each time he has stepped up a division, the naysayers have predicted that he will fail, suggesting the extra weight will put paid to his awesome speed and power. Each time they've been wrong.
He'll have his hands full with Cotto, whose record shows only one loss. That came against Antonio Margarito, who was later found to have entered the ring with a little assistance, reported to be cement dust, in his gloves. It gives a whole new meaning to "hands of stone".
I can't see Pacquiao resorting to such tactics, or, even if he's doesn't win, saying "No mas" like the original "Hands of Stone", Roberto Duran, and quitting on his stool.
Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article192509.ece
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:48:00 11/11/2009
LAS VEGAS— The lull in between the official welcome laid out by the MGM Grand for the two boxers facing off on Nov. 14 spoke volumes about how this was going to be more Manny Pacquiao’s show than it will be Miguel Cotto’s.
But it’s not like Miguel Cotto has no plans of ruining the storyline.
Pacquiao walked the red carpet of the MGM Grand lobby to deafening cheers and exploding flashbulbs and made his way up a makeshift ring adorned with a centerpiece golden lion statue to a reception fit for a king, a reception that surprised even the boxer-celebrity who is accustomed to crowds mobbing his every public move.
“I am surprised and happy that a lot of people came [to welcome me],” Pacquiao told reporters from both print and broadcast that tried to squirm their way in front of him to capture a sound bite or two even as photographers and cameramen jostled for prime shots at the world’s reigning pound-for-pound king.
After answers to a couple of questions, Pacquiao would turn his back and face the throng that had gathered at the hotel lobby as early as an hour or two before his late arrival to wave at fans, who would respond by shrieking “Manny! Manny!” with fervor.
Pacquiao faces Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand’s garden Arena, where the Filipino ring icon will attempt to become the first boxer to win world titles in seven different weight classes. And while Pacquiao has spoken several times about trying to win one for the victims of a string of violent storms that hit the Philippines, or writing about a page in boxing history, he insists he has nothing against the man who will be out to stop him.
“It’s nothing personal, I’m just doing my job to try and make people happy,” he explained.
And then, after a whirlwind of quickie interviews, Pacquiao left—and almost simultaneously, so did the air inside the hotel lobby. The moment the Filipino ring icon hit the exit, life was sucked out of the event organized by the promoting Top Rank, with the crowd—which had swelled to a couple of hundred—thinning to less than a third of its original size.
This was the audience Cotto was left to work with.
Although there was still boisterous cheering the moment Cotto arrived about half an hour later for his public appearance, the noise was seemingly amplified only by the echoes of a few rabid supporters in a relatively emptied lobby.
Not that Cotto minded.
“Everything Manny has, everything he gets, he has earned,” Cotto told reporters with the stoic nonchalance of a person who is familiar with the throng his opponent can attract, the ones that went off looking for the nearest lunch venue after Pacquiao had left the scene.
“He has earned the right to enjoy it all.”
While Cotto has accepted that he cannot do anything about the gulf in popularity between him and his upcoming foe, he knows he is in control of the most important aspect of this whole event—fight night.
And for all the adoring worshippers that collect at his feet with every step, Manny Pacquiao, Cotto said, will be left to fend for himself once the two boxers are let loose in the middle of the ring on Nov. 14.
“Nobody can come in there to help Manny,” Cotto told reporters present. “Once the fight starts, there is only going to be me, Manny and the referee. No one else will be there in the ring. Nobody can help Manny or give him something to hit me with.”
Pacquiao arrived at the venue wearing a brown coat over a green shirt. And although he came late for the event, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air, one that caught fire each time television cameras panned to groups carrying Philippine flags or fight-related shirts and souvenirs.
He waltzed through interviews with his usual canned responses of doing his best for his countrymen and fighting hard enough to cement his legacy.
“If I win a seventh title in another weight, it will be history,” said Pacquiao. “This is a very important fight for me and I am very focused for this fight.”
For his part, Cotto said he wasn’t worried about Pacquiao’s speed, the overwhelming factor that has placed the General Santos City native as the odds-on favorite in possibly every proposition cooked up by sports bookies, because his camp has come up with solutions to negate that.
“We’ve studied him and we’re prepared for his speed,” said Cotto. “I have hand speed like Manny.”
“But can Manny's power equal Miguel Cotto's on Saturday night? I am very calm. I have been doing this for many years,” Cotto said in an interview with Reuters.
Cotto also dismissed claims that he was struggling to make the weight. Although the Puerto Rican’s cheeks looked more hollowed out than usual, there was none of the signs, indeed, of a person crash-dieting to make a certain weight limit.
He had a light spring in his step and he wasn’t cranky at all. “I’m not worried about my weight,” he said. “I’m eating well.”
Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20091111-235604/It-was-Mannys-stage-in-Las-Vegas
By Trent Pusey November 11, 2009
After months of waiting, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto will finally meet in the ring this Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It should be an exciting fight and the action begins at 9pm ET on HBO pay-per-view. The undercard features Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as well as Daniel Santos vs Yuri Foreman.
Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao (WBO Welterweight Title)
Money Line: Cotto +190; Pacquiao -250
Miguel Cotto, 34-1 (27 KOs), was once the most feared welterweight in the world. After a thrilling loss to Antonio Margarito, in which Margarito may or may not have had illegal hand wraps, Cotto was no longer invincible. After a less than impressive win over Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto is looking to regain some of the luster that Margarito wiped away. Cotto is an exceptional boxer with amazing heart and toughness. Pacquiao represents his biggest fight, but the Puerto Rican is no stranger to the big stage. He headlined Madison Square Garden against Zab Judah and again with Shane Mosley. This will be his second time on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand. His first was with Margarito. The X-factor with Cotto will be how he looks during the weigh-in. The 145 pound catchweight helps Pacquiao. A drained and fatigued Cotto would help even more.
Manny Pacquiao, 49-3-2 (37 KOs), has been making history with every fight and this one is no different. He is attempting to become the first boxer to win a world title in seven different weight classes. As meaningless as boxing titles have become, it is still a mighty impressive feat. Pacquiao’s run has been amazing but his aura of invincibility really started to form after he made Oscar De La Hoya quit on his stool last year. Pacquiao followed with a quick dismantling of Ricky Hatton in May of this year, only adding to the aura. Manny appears unstoppable. His lightning fast hands and desire to engage have not only lead him to a slew of wins, but have garnered him millions of fans. There is bound to be a ceiling on Manny’s ascent up the weight classes. We will see if Miguel Cotto is in fact that ceiling this Saturday.
Fight Predictions
Trent: Both of these men are dangerous fighters, but the current wave of momentum greatly favors Manny Pacquiao. Freddie Roach has done an excellent job of scouting Pacquiao’s opponents, and his confidence in Pacquiao alone is enough for me to side with Pacman. If Cotto comes out of the weigh-in looking strong then I might want to change my opinion. Miguel Cotto is the biggest puncher that Manny Pacquiao has ever been in the ring with. He can most certainly put an early end to Pacquiao’s evening. But all the other intangibles are in Manny’s favor. Cotto also has a propensity to cut easily; never a good thing when you are in the ring with Manny Pacquiao. As long as Manny is careful in his exchanges, I see a 116-112 win for Pacman.
Paul Magno: The pressure is all on Cotto in this one. A loss for Manny means a brave effort against a bigger warrior; A loss for Cotto means a loss to a naturally smaller fighter and the end of the line in his quest for mega-fights and the accompanying mega-paydays. Stylistically, Pacquiao represents the type of fighter that has given Cotto problems in the past: a quick-fisted southpaw who throws from unorthodox angles. A much bigger Margarito never wobbled Cotto as much as “Chop Chop” Corley or, even, Zab Judah in the past. Cotto will have to deal with his two achilles heels in this contest: mental pressure and a lightning-fast lefty. Pacquiao rides the wave of history and beats a game, but befuddled Miguel Cotto via shockingly quick stoppage in the 5th.
Corey Willinger: Miguel Cotto has been getting the raw end of this deal since the beginning, and I don’t expect things to get any better for him on fight night. He’s been forced to put his title on the line without reason, and he’s battling history as Pacquiao attempts to become the first “seven-division” champion. The fact that he is a natural welterweight was Cotto’s only real advantage coming in, and Freddie Roach has effectively taken that away by having him weigh in at 145 pounds. The speedier Pacquiao will start finding his range after a round or two and will be ahead on the cards when he forces a tenth round stoppage over a bloodied Cotto. Hopefully Miguel finds the beating, both in and out of the ring, worth every penny.
Bryan Trafford: My prediction for the Pacquiao/Cotto fight is Pacquiao by unanimous decision. I don’t think he will knock Cotto out, but I do see him outboxing him over twelve rounds. I think Pacquiao will look to give Cotto angles, and get in and get out. I don’t think Manny will engage in a slugfest, to his own better judgment. This fight will be more competitive than his last two fights, but Pacmania will continue to run wild.
Source: http://insidefights.com/2009/11/11/miguel-cotto-vs-manny-pacquiao-preview/
Posted: 11/10/2009 10:39:00 PM PST
HOLLYWOOD - Manny Pacquiao has won major world championships in four weight classes. Some publications - not this one - are giving him credit for having won titles in six weight classes because of victories over Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight and Ricky Hatton at junior welterweight.
There were no major belts on the line in those two fights. But Barrera and Hatton were, at least, people's champions at the time.
Either way, what Pacquiao has accomplished is rare, to be sure. On Saturday he will try to add a fifth major title in as many divisions when he challenges Miguel Cotto for his welterweight world title at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, has been in the game more than 40 years.
Among the fighters he has promoted is Oscar De La Hoya, the only fighter to win major championships in six weight classes. But his sixth came in a middleweight title fight against Felix Sturm, and many thought Sturm beat De La Hoya, who clearly struggled to carry his power up that high. Bulking up also slowed his hand and foot speed.
Pacquiao, who won his first title in the 112-pound flyweight division, had no such trouble when he knocked out Hatton in the second round at 140 pounds last May at MGM Grand. He was lightning quick and powerful.
"Manny Pacquiao's entire career has been incredible," Arum said. "I mean, I have never in all the time I've been in boxing seen a fighter who keeps going up in weight and keeps getting better rather than diminished. Because there's always, when a guy goes up in weight, does he bring his punch with him? And does it slow him down going up in weight?
"Well, Manny seems to be getting faster and his punches seem to be getting stronger. So it's a phenomenon that we have never seen before in boxing. I mean that. The body of work that Manny Pacquiao represents is something that is completely unique in the sport."
Pacquiao is a special athlete, and that certainly has played a big part in what he has achieved. But as he sat in his dressing room at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood last week - wearing that infectious smile - he talked about another aspect of his success.
School was in.
"Aside from hard work in training, I study how to make boxing easy," Pacquiao said. "Everybody knows that boxing is a hard sport and it's something where I say, `How can I make it easier than what it is?"'
In other words, as he has moved up he has analyzed what he must do to succeed in the heavier divisions.
"For example," he said, "tomorrow you have an exam for science. So, you have to now study the science subject, not mathematics. That's what I mean."
Freddie Roach has trained Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) for more than eight years. He said Pacquiao's willingness to learn is one of the key factors in Pacquiao being all he can be.
"Manny is never satisfied," Roach said. "People win world titles, they get satisfied and they don't learn anymore. Pacquiao is really hungry for knowledge, he wants to improve himself. His work ethic is unbelievable.
"The thing is he's like a throwback. People say, `Who's the next Manny Pacquiao?' I say, `We're not going to see another Manny Pacquiao in our lifetime.' Things like this don't happen every day."
Pacquiao's last loss was to Erik Morales in March 2005. Since then, Roach has worked hard to make Pacquiao more of an all-around boxer rather than just a wild-swinging brawler. Pacquiao has been more than a willing disciple of Roach's tutelage. Had he not been, it's doubtful he would be where he is today.
It's not like he has become a boxer who dances and runs his way to victory because he is not carrying his power up in weight either, or because he can't handle bigger punches coming his way. Since that narrow loss to Morales, Pacquiao has won 10 consecutive bouts, seven by knockout.
There's another element to Pacquiao's success. He wants to give the best he can and he wants his supporters to be wildly excited about his performance. He never wants to be accused of being in one of those yawn-fests where 12 rounds seem like 20.
He still is very explosive.
"My responsibility of being a fighter is not only for myself and for my family, but of course, you have a responsibility to make people happy, especially people who love boxing," said Pacquiao, 30.
"You have to do your job. You have to work hard and make people like your fighting, the way you fight in the ring.
"Not like somebody who doesn't care about the fight, you know, as long as he wins he doesn't care how the fight is, if it is a good fight or not."
Pacquiao never is in a dull fight, regardless of the inordinate amount of weight classes in which he has toiled. Even prestigious peers like Bernard Hopkins admire him.
"Pacquiao is going to chop Cotto up," Hopkins said. "Manny is the Bruce Lee of boxing. You can't tell where his shots are coming from. Unlike Rocky, Bruce Lee was a real dude and so is Manny."
Oh, absolutely.
Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_13759914
The Pacman will bid for his seventh world title when he challenges for Cotto's WBO welterweight strap inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Once again Pacman will be naturally the smaller man, having already disposed of Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in devastating fashion in the last 12 months.
But former undisputed middleweight king Hopkins says size really won't matter come fight night.
"Pacquiao is going to chop Cotto up. Out of respect, Cotto will get some rounds, but Manny is the Bruce Lee of boxing," said B-Hop.
"His basketball and martial arts background give him that speed and agility. You can't tell where his shots are coming from. Unlike Rocky, Bruce Lee was a real dude and so is Manny."
Another man picking Pacman to prevail on Saturday is Britain's former super-middeweight king Joe Calzaghe. He too believes speed and not size will the key to a fascinating match-up.
"I think Manny Pacquiao is going to be too quick for Cotto," said Calzaghe.
"I was ringside when Cotto fought Clottey. He seemed to struggle a bit in that fight and it is hard to say what he will do against a faster, quicker Pacquiao. I know people say Cotto is the bigger guy but I still think Pacquiao beats him in a decision."
Former heavyweight king Mike Tyson is also picking Pacquiao for another massive win, and doesn't believe Cotto will make it to the final bell.
He said: "I pick Manny Pacquiao by knockout. I think he will knock him out in 7 or 8. Manny just has too much for Cotto."
Source: http://www.espnstar.com/other-sports/news/detail/item351818/%22Pacman%27s-going-to-chop-Cotto-up%22/
by OldSchool
An argument can be made, and a darn good one, that if Manny Pacquiao wins his seventh weight-class title Saturday in a welterweight championship fight against Miguel Cotto, Pacman legitimately could be considered as the best pound-for-pound fighter ever.
I’ve got a lot of admiration for Pacquiao, but I have to point out that (through no fault of his own), his achievements are somewhat watered down.
There are so many weight classes, champions and sanctioning organizations, it’s hard to take the word “champion” seriously.
Of course none of this is Pacman’s fault. He fights in this era and this era is watered down. As a fighter, Pacquiao is anything but watered down.
But pound-for-pound the best? That’s a tall order. I hate to sound like an old-school old fogie here, but when it comes to pound-for-pound greatness, Pacquiao — and anyone else — would be hard-pressed to match up with Sugar Ray Robinson.
In an era when there was only one champion for just eight divisions, Robinson won the welterweight and middleweight titles, and he was on his way to winning the light-heavyweight championship when he was overtaken in the 13th round by heat exhaustion.
Source: http://oldschool.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10505/manny-pacquiao-best-pound-for-pound-fighter-ever/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
