Steward sees tough Pacquiao-Cotto fight

ONE of boxing’s legendary trainers sees a tough fight between pound-for-pound king Manny ‘PacMan’ Pacquiao and World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

In an interview with eastsideboxing.com, Emmanuel “Manny” Steward said it’s unfair to give the Filipino boxing icon a clear edge over Cotto when they square off on November 14 in Las Vegas.

While Cotto was not impressive in his last fight against challenger Joshua Clottey, Steward said the latter is actually a tough fighter who could have given welterweight legends Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard a rough time in the ring.

“Based on Miguel having such a tough fight there [against Clottey] and Manny looking like a million dollars knocking out Ricky Hatton and Oscar [dela Hoya], that’s why the odds are totally going out of proportion and I don’t think that’s a fair assessment. I see it [Pacquiao-Cotto] as almost a toss-up fight, myself,” Stewards was quoted as saying.

The legendary trainer said a lot of people are actually underestimating Cotto’s size advantage over the Filipino, explaining that the champion from Puerto Rico is a natural welterweight.

Steward also said Pacquiao is a natural junior lightweight or lightweight, which puts the Filipino boxing icon at a disadvantage over Cotto. The Puerto Rican has been listed at 5’7” while Pacquiao is 5’6”.

However, Pacquiao has won the admiration of Steward, who has trained legendary champions like junior welterweight Aaron Pryor and heavyweights Evander Holyfied and Lennox Lewis, and multi-weight titleholders Hearns and De La Hoya. He presently trains heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

“He [Pacquiao] has the instincts of a fighter, the balance, the timing, the stamina—everything—and it’s just natural. He’s a fighter! If anyone was ever born to be a fighter, it would be a guy like him or [Roberto] Duran, but he’s better because he has great rhythm, and his defense and timing are a lot better than people think,” he said.

COTTO WEAKNESSES

Steward also said that Cotto has weaknesses in defense, which can cause trouble for the Puerto Rican.

“His defense right up the middle—he has absolutely no defense for that, because his gloves are so wide, and fighters can punch right between his gloves,” the legendary trainer said.

He said that if Pacquiao is able to penetrate Cotto’s defense and hit the Puerto Rican at will, the Filipino has a chance to win their showdown.

“I think he [Cotto] should not fight with his defense being the way it has been before,” Steward said.

The Pacquiao-Cotto fight has been pegged at a catch weight of 145 pounds, or two below the welterweight limit. Freddie Roach, the Filipino’s trainer, would not allow his fighter to battle Cotto at 147 pounds because the Puerto Rican would have a big weight and size advantage on fight night.

“Freddie knows that Manny is really not a true welterweight, and that’s why he’s [Freddie] trying to at least get some kind of equilibrium in those fights by making the opponents come down in weight as close to Manny as they can for balance,” Steward said.

Source: ManilaTimes.net

Cotto looking for lefty sparmates

Tapping and finding sparring partners who are mirror-images of Manny Pacquiao will be the key to victory for Miguel Cotto when he faces the Filipino icon on November 14 in Las Vegas.

Cotto chief trainer Joe Santiago told the newspaper El Nuevo Dia that they are on the lookout for southpaw sparring partners who they plan to bring to Tampa, Florida, for the crucial phase of training camp.

“We will try to get left-handed and short boxers with good hand speed (like Pacquiao). This is the key to victory,”

Santiago said as he was presiding over Cotto’s first training session on Monday in Puerto Rico.

Cotto said he felt great after his light training, something that was not the case in the past.

“I feel very well, thanks to God. Better than when I began in previous occasions,” said the 28-year-old Cotto, who will report to the gym three times a week in the next two weeks in time for the arrival of conditioning coach Phil Landman.

While Cotto is already in training mode, Pacquiao appears to be taking it nice and easy and it seems the 30-year-old four-division champion will only get to put on a pair of gloves after the four-city promotional tour being arranged starting on September 10.

Even if Pacquiao is still fulfilling his obligations and not opting to show up at some private gym in Manila, the fighter remains on track in the proposed eight-week training camp that will be supervised by Freddie Roach in a venue to be determined in the next few weeks.

By the time the press tour makes its final stop in Los Angeles on September 14, Pacquiao can still afford to take a day or two off before hooking up with Roach to God knows where.

Being eyed to host Pacquiao’s first half of training camp are the Bahamas, Vancouver, Mexico and even the Philippines.

Source: mb.com.ph

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