Cotto trains, Pacquiao shoots movie

As Manny Pacquiao spends most of his time shooting a movie due for release in the December film festival, Miguel Cotto kicked off his training on Monday (Tuesday in the Philippines) in his native Puerto Rico, a sign that the shaven-skulled banger knows the caliber of his Filipino opponent.

Cotto, 28, actually began his day by running for 40 minutes, according to the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, before proceeding to the Abner Cotto Gym in Aguas Buenas, where a sizable number of his supporters were on hand to see him work out for the first time since beating Joshua Clottey last June in New York.

While Top Rank promotions is still connecting all the dots as to the penciled November 14 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Cotto is making the most out of his available time by preparing himself for the onset of training camp proper in Tampa, Florida.

In the coming weeks, Cotto will be heading to the gym two or three times a week under the strict supervision of chief trainer Joe Santiago, whose target is “equality preparation” for Cotto.

Santiago said training will be handled well to guarantee that all the hard work in the gym won’t go down the drain.

Cotto also did his part in making sure he is in terrific shape heading into training camp, stressing that even while on vacation, he did not allow himself to physically go out of shape.

As for Pacquiao, who plans to start training camp in mid-September, the days ahead are loaded with numerous showbiz commitments since he intends to finish the shooting of his movie by the time he heads to the US on September 8.

Even the site of Pacquiao’s training camp remains a mystery as of this time since the 30-year-old pound-for-pound king hasn’t made up his mind where to train alongside Freddie Roach.

Top Rank head Bob Arum is offering the Bahamas, while Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal is training his sights on Vancouver in Canada. Other possible sites include Mexico and the Philippines.

“It’s all up to Manny,” said Arum, who has informed Team Pacquiao that if they plan to hold training camp in the US, they have to pay millions of dollars in taxes owing to an IRS regulation called the Substantial Presence Test.

Source: Mb.com.ph