Roach: Pacquiao too quick for Cotto

Freddie Roach insists Manny Pacquiao can cement his place as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter against Miguel Cotto on November 14.

The six-weight world champion, who knocked out Ricky Hatton to claim the IBO light-welterweight crown in May, will return to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a bout at 145lbs.

The winner is in line for a megafight against either Floyd Mayweather Jr of Juan Manuel Marquez and, though Pac Man acknowledges his natural deficiencies, he remains confident his ability will see him through.

"I can see that this fight is going to be a hard fight for me because Miguel Cotto is bigger than me and stronger than me," Pacquiao told Sky Sports News. "But of course I believe in my power and my speed."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach has studied the 28-year-old Puerto Rican - 34 (KO 27)-0-1 - closely over recent months and is sure his charge can come through.

"He (Cotto) knows that hand speed because he dealt with that when he fought Shane Mosley as well, but he has a little difficulty with the southpaw style," Roach said.

"But it's really not our hand speed that's going to win this fight, it's the foot speed. That's the key to this fight.

"After we exchange we can't stay in front of this guy and let him throw back at us."

The press conference to officially announce the bout was held at the new Yankee Stadium. And promoter Bob Arum is hoping that big fights themselves will soon return to major ballparks.

"We have a history of bringing big fights to the Yankee Stadium," said Arum, who put on Muhammad Ali's bout against Ken Norton on Sept. 28, 1976, a fight remembered more for the chaos caused by a police strike than anything else.

"It's something we'd like to do again."

Source: ESPNstar.com