American trainer Freddie Roach said Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao needs to engage world welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in an intelligent fight in order to win.
“Cotto's very strong, we have to fight a very intelligent fight,” said Roach in an interview over dzSR’s Sports Chat with Dennis Principe.
If Top Rank promoter Bob Arum succeeds in arranging the match between the pound-for-pound king and the Puerto Rican champion, the fight will take place on November 14 in Las Vegas. “The thing is, he's big and strong and he's young,” Roach said referring to Cotto. “I think it’s a hard fight for us, Cotto is a strong puncher.”
Cotto, the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, is 28 years old while Pacquiao is already 30.
However, Roach said Pacquiao’s current fighting level puts the odds in their favor. “It's a tough fight, but the way Manny is fighting right now, it's a very winnable fight for us,” he said.
When asked about Shane Mosley’s insistence on securing a fight with the pound-for-pound champion, Roach said Pacquiao stands to gain more in fighting Cotto.
“You had the Mosley-Cotto [fight], [so] who's the better fighter? You gotta say it’s Cotto because when they fought, Cotto won,” said the American trainer.
In November 2007, Mosley tried to wrest the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title from Cotto but lost by a unanimous decision.
“So, style-wise Shane is probably a little faster than Cotto. [But] I think Mosley is just way overrated,” said Roach.
Earlier, revered boxing trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain said Pacquiao needs only six rounds to beat Cotto. He said Cotto lost the edge after receiving a brutal beating from Antonio Margarito last July.
"Cotto remained a little deteriorated after the fight that he had with Antonio Margarito. And to be up against Manny Pacquiao, with all due respect - since I respect and I admire Puerto Rican boxing, but I believe that Pacquiao should put him on the canvas in five or six rounds," he said.
Beristain, who crafted Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez into a technical fighter, said Cotto had a hard time beating Joshua Clottey.
"In the fight against Clottey, you could see some of the aftermath of what happened with Margarito. Clotty is not a top-level fighter, and nevertheless, in some moments, Cotto was put in predicaments and the punches were affecting him," he said.
By ABS-CBN
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pacquiao okays Cotto as next foe --Arum
MANILA, Philippines -- Impressed by the tremendous amount of fan support Miguel Cotto generated in his welterweight fight yesterday, Manny Pacquiao has given promoter Bob Arum the go signal to arrange a fight between the two stars.
Speaking to Michael Marley of The Examiner, Arum -- who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto -- said he already has penciled November 14 as the targeted date for the Pacquiao-Cotto showdown.
Pacquiao sat ringside with Arum as Cotto carved out a hard-fought split decision win over the tough Joshua Clottey to retain his WBO welterweight strap yesterday at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Puerto Rican fought on despite sustaining a deep gash in the left eyebrow.
"Manny told me what to do. Manny told me 'Go ahead, make that fight.' So it will go Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand here in (Las) Vegas," Arum told Marley. "He (Pacquiao) was impressed by Cotto's fan support and told me it reminded him of how the British fans stand with Ricky Hatton."
A proposed Pacquiao-Cotto bout became more likely after Floyd Mayweather -- one of Pacquiao's targeted opponents -- announced he is calling off his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez because of a rib injury he sustained while training.
Mayweather is originally slated to face Marquez on July 18. With the injury, however, their fight is reportedly being rescheduled to September 19 -- making a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout unlikely to happen within the year.
Arum, meanwhile, assured that Cotto is enthusiastic with the prospect of a Pacquiao bout.
"Miguel is delighted to get a fight against Manny, trust me. Miguel very much wants this fight. It will be a sensational fight (with) the way they attack," Arum said. - By Dino Maragay (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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Speaking to Michael Marley of The Examiner, Arum -- who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto -- said he already has penciled November 14 as the targeted date for the Pacquiao-Cotto showdown.
Pacquiao sat ringside with Arum as Cotto carved out a hard-fought split decision win over the tough Joshua Clottey to retain his WBO welterweight strap yesterday at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Puerto Rican fought on despite sustaining a deep gash in the left eyebrow.
"Manny told me what to do. Manny told me 'Go ahead, make that fight.' So it will go Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand here in (Las) Vegas," Arum told Marley. "He (Pacquiao) was impressed by Cotto's fan support and told me it reminded him of how the British fans stand with Ricky Hatton."
A proposed Pacquiao-Cotto bout became more likely after Floyd Mayweather -- one of Pacquiao's targeted opponents -- announced he is calling off his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez because of a rib injury he sustained while training.
Mayweather is originally slated to face Marquez on July 18. With the injury, however, their fight is reportedly being rescheduled to September 19 -- making a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout unlikely to happen within the year.
Arum, meanwhile, assured that Cotto is enthusiastic with the prospect of a Pacquiao bout.
"Miguel is delighted to get a fight against Manny, trust me. Miguel very much wants this fight. It will be a sensational fight (with) the way they attack," Arum said. - By Dino Maragay (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
Pacquiao, Calzaghe honored by writers
NEW YORK -- Manny Pacquiao has been voted fighter of the year by the Boxing Writers Association of America after a dominating win over Oscar De La Hoya.
Joe Calzaghe was runner-up, but voted manager of the year Tuesday for guiding his own career. The undefeated former super middleweight champion recently retired.
Pacquiao won three times in 2008, highlighted by his stoppage of De La Hoya. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, was voted trainer of the year, the third time he has won the award.
The super bantamweight rubber match between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez was chosen fight of the year. Vazquez won the fight by split decision.
The awards will be presented at the annual BWAA dinner June 12 in New York.
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Joe Calzaghe was runner-up, but voted manager of the year Tuesday for guiding his own career. The undefeated former super middleweight champion recently retired.
Pacquiao won three times in 2008, highlighted by his stoppage of De La Hoya. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, was voted trainer of the year, the third time he has won the award.
The super bantamweight rubber match between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez was chosen fight of the year. Vazquez won the fight by split decision.
The awards will be presented at the annual BWAA dinner June 12 in New York.
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