Pacman to Mexico?

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said Mexican president Felipe Calderon will roll out the red carpet for Manny Pacquiao if the Filipino pound-for-pound king decides to spend the first half of his training camp in the world-famous resort city of Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula. Arum said Calderon will be on hand to welcome Pacquiao, who has a scheduled Nov. 14 fight with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao has been advised to train outside the US to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes after it was discovered that he has surpassed the allowed number of days for non-residents the last three years.

An IRS provision called the Substantial Presence Test has been explained fully to Pacquiao and the fighter has trained his sights on the Bahamas, Vancouver, Canada and Mexico as candidates to host the first four or five weeks of training camp.

Pacquiao told Fightnews and Manila Bulletin during a visit to his ailing former chief handler Rod Nazario on Friday that he will fulfill his promotional obligation by going on a four-city press tour that kicks off at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sept. 10. The following stops will be San Juan in Puerto Rico on the 12th, San Francisco on the 13th and Los Angeles on the 14th.

After the press tour, Pacquiao, 30, said he will likely return to the Philippines to train possibly in Baguio City before deciding where to set up camp with Freddie Roach, his training assistants and sparring partners.

Pacquiao told Nazario, who hosted a party in celebration of the ninth anniversary of the popular weekly show In This Corner, that Cotto is a dangerous opponent although those who were in attendance, including long-time supporters Moy Lainez, Gerry Garcia and Lito Mondejar erupted in laughter when the lethal-hitting lefty delivered those words.

Nazario was Pacquiao’s business manager from 1995 until 2005 and it was the boxing old-timer who made it possible for Pacquiao to make his US debut in June 2001.

Source: Fightnews.com

Is he admitting defeat?

Miguel Cotto has been very vocal about his clash with the pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and it's playing a big role in the on-going drama particularly on whether he will put his WBO Welterweight title on the line.

Some people construed Cotto's position as having admitted defeated when he is not willing to put his belt at stake as if he knows Pacquiao is getting it after the fight.

Just recently, Cotto made another statement that brought up such thought that he has admitted defeat. He has expressed his intentions to retire from boxing after a couple of years to spend more time with his family. While this is a good move, I don't think this is the right time to make such statements, just a few months before his mega fight with the best boxer in the world.

He may have accepted the fight to finally earn what superstars are earning to support his plans of leaving boxing after a couple of years. That is a bright move. But you can not take away the fact that people may perceive it differently. You can not blame people to think that he is admitting defeat.

Click here for more about the Cotto's statement...

WBO? WBC? or IBA?

Interestingly, the very main issue surrounding the fight between the best boxer in the world Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto on November 14, 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was the belt. Manny wants Cotto's WBO belt at stake.

During this drama, the WBC came up with a special belt for catchweights called Diamond Belt. It was made for great fights made at a catchweight. Some reports said this may be the kind of belt to be on the line in Pacquiao's fight with Cotto.

And just recently, one report says that the IBA is interested to sanction the fight since no certain belt is at stake yet.

This adds another spice and drama to an already much-talked about fight, possibly the biggest fight of the year.

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