Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pacquiao not invincible – Cotto

In the eyes of Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao is not Superman but just like Clark Kent.

“His weaknesses are obvious to me,” Cotto told the Bulletin in an interview that was made possible by his adviser, topnotch lawyer Gabriel Penagaricano.

While Cotto acknowledges that the Filipino pound-for-pound king “is a good fighter,” it doesn’t follow that Pacquiao is invincible.

“(Pacquiao) lost to (Erik) Morales in their first fight, had a draw against (Juan Manuel) Marquez and then a razor-thin victory in the rematch. Pacquiao faced a very tired and aged (Oscar) De La Hoya. Then Ricky Hatton, an overrated fighter,” said Cotto, who is in the thick of training in Puerto Rico for the much-awaited November 14 duel at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Against me, the story will be different. It will be a war,” vowed the 28-year-old Cotto, who is a 2-1 underdog according to odds makers.

Cotto is currently in the fourth week of training under taskmaster Joe Santiago and the arrival of South African conditioning coach Phil Landman from Los Angeles will push Cotto even further in his daily workouts that will kick off with a 5 a.m. roadwork and followed by a 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. gym session.

Landman was amazed with the condition of Cotto when he first reported for work on Monday, stressing that the fighter had followed the advice he gave him following the June 13 victory over Joshua Clottey.

Cotto will continue to train in Puerto Rico in the coming weeks and will try to keep in shape even while on a four-city press tour with Pacquiao beginning September 10 in New York. Other stops of the Top Rank traveling circus would be Caguas in Puerto Rico, San Francisco, and finally, Los Angeles.

Cotto will transfer his training camp to Tampa, Florida on September 19.

Told about the key to victory against Pacquiao, Cotto was direct to the point.

“Hard training as always has been the key to my victories.”

His message to Pacquiao as well as his supporters all over the world was loud and clear.

“I will only say that in November 14th I will step into the ring as always in excellent condition, and will win the fight for the glory of Puerto Rico,” said Cotto.

Source: Mb.com.ph


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