Manny Pacquiao puts on a show

Manny Pacquiao returned from a Wednesday-long nap Thursday and gave his trainer Freddie Roach a vigorous workout at Hollywood's Wild Card Gym.

Pacquiao spent 11 rounds sparring against two opponents, flashing his brilliant ability to charge an opening and deliver either a powerful left or right uppercut.

Roach was so giddy about the performance he dressed up two days before Halloween as Batman, complete with the rock-hard abs.

Not to be outdone, Pacquiao took off his shirt and showed his abs.

Two weeks and two days away from Pacquiao's welterweight title fight against champion Miguel Cotto, Roach announced, "Miguel, the superheroes are coming to get you!"

Pacquiao's intensity is picking up after Wednesday"s lengthy nap. The gym will be closed to any public and media access until media day, Wednesday.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/10/manny-pacquiao-miguel-cotto.html

Roach the mad scientist has the Pacquiao master plan all stirred up!

Roach thinking of a Master Plan- Defeating a monster like Cotto is a very hard thing to do. Try using your speed advantage over him as Judah and Mosley tried to do and Cotto will only use it against you by timing you at just the right time. Try to come in on a defensive shell as Clottey tried to do, and Cotto will still find a way to get to you. In fighting Pacquiao, Cotto will have a storm on his hands and maybe a bigger storm in Freddie Roach. Roach is the ultimate student of the game, Roach will find weaknesses in the opposition in rapid speed. Roach will for sure train Manny to come in and out like a lightning bolt against Cotto. The game plan will be the one used against Oscar. IN there to cause damage and out of there before your opponent can react. Sounds easy enough right? Well, against Cotto things are never going to be easy, but Roach is the kind of trainer that makes things look very easy. For example, take Hatton, I always knew that Pacquiao would KO Hatton, but never did I for even a second think that Pacquiao would do it as easy as he did. Like I said, Roach has ways of making things look easy, sometimes too easy.

Head On Collision! Pacquiao vs. Cotto- Right now as things stand, everything looks great for Pacquiao to come out of this war with the W. I mean simply look at Pacquiao's sparring partners- Urbano Antillon, Jose Luis Castillo, and Shawn Porter. As for Cotto, well let's just say that the only name that I was familiar with was Gato Figueroa, and Figueroa got dismissed out of camp with the speed of a Gato. Back to Pacquiao, Now I know that Castillo is not the force he once was, but I know for a fact that Porter is a real force. For those of you that have never seen Porter, Porter is a combo of Mosley and Berto. Porter is built like Berto but goes hard to the body like Mosley. Call me crazy, but I feel that Cotto still has a real good shot. A part of me feels that yes it's great to spar against great competition to better yourself, but maybe just maybe studs like Porter can over work you and may inflict some damage. Maybe Cotto wants to be as fresh as he can be, since after all, Cotto looked anything but fresh after the Clottey war. For Pacquaio to score, Pacquaio will have to come into the lions mouth to get some, but once he is there right at the tip of the mouth, Pacquiao will be recieving more than he was expecting to recieve. Think Taylor/Abraham, sure Taylor tried to fight Abraham from long distance, but the monster that is Abraham would then move forward to fire away heavy ass shots, well ladies and gents, Cotto is also that kind of monster.

Pavlik versus Williams- A part of me wants Pavlik to resurface like his old self by knocking guys out cold like he used to do. That part of me however may be dreaming. I feel that Williams unhuman like workrate will baffle Pavlik from start to finish. Pavlik, however has a punchers chance. We know that Williams will be extra busy, so being extra busy will leave you open from time to time, if Pavlik can find an opening and fire off a bomb, say that bomb lands flush, what will happen then? That question right there is what makes this fight so intriguing. As of right now though, I am sticking with the Punisher. Just talking about this fight makes me want to see Calzaghe come back and fight Williams. Wow, a Calzaghe/Williams clash will have no breaks at all, workrate versus workrate, no cornermen needed in this one, these two will fight through the breaks.

Source: http://diamondboxing.com/newsstory.php?list=10021

News HBO SPORTS’ 24/7 PACQUIAO/COTTO, A FOUR-EPISODE, ALL-ACCESS SERIES LEADING UP TO THE PAY-PER-VIEW SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TWO BOXING SUPERSTAR

HBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured seven Sports Emmy® Awards, will return to present its seventh installment with 24/7 PACQUIAO/COTTO, an all-new four-episode, all-access series. Debuting SATURDAY, OCT. 24 (10:15-10:45 p.m. ET/PT), the series will follow Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, two of the sport’s brightest stars, as they prepare for their Nov. 14 pay-per-view showdown in Las Vegas. Pacquiao seeks to continue his reign as the sport’s pound-for-pound king, while Cotto looks to prove that his ring skills are ideal for derailing the Pacquiao express.

This fast-paced series will capture the interactions and rigors the two fighters experience in preparing for their contest. Making his third “24/7” appearance, Pacquiao is expected to surround himself with a familiar contingent of family and friends as he trains with trusted longtime associate Freddy Roach. HBO reality series newcomer Cotto, who never ducks a challenge, is taking on his biggest fight yet with trainer Joe Santiago as they seek to set a strategy to unseat the widely regarded pound-for-pound champ.

Episodes two and three of 24/7 PACQUIAO/COTTO debut on subsequent Saturdays – OCT. 31 (11:00-11:30 p.m.) and NOV. 7 (9:00-9:30 p.m.) – while the finale debuts FRIDAY, NOV. 13 (9:30-10:00 p.m.), just one night before the fight. All four episodes will have multiple replay dates on HBO, and the series will also be available on HBO On Demand.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-28443.html

Mayweather's return boosts Pacquiao-Cotto bout

No one will ever confuse Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Bob Arum as friends.

The ex-welterweight champion's former promoter, however, will give him this much: Mayweather's successful comeback from an almost two-year layoff last month has boosted Manny Pacquiao's Nov. 14 bout with Miguel Cotto.

"Mayweather's return has gotten people, particularly the people who follow Mayweather, energized. Those people are going to watch this fight because the winner is a potential (opponent) for Mayweather," says Arum, whose Top Rank Inc. promotes Pacquiao and Cotto.

A month before the year's most anticipated fight, Las Vegas is almost sold out for Pacquiao-Cotto. Only about 90 high-end seats remain at the 16,500-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena ($9 million gate) and the 1,000 tickets for local closed circuit are gone.

Pacquiao is guaranteed $10 million while Cotto's take is $6.5 million. If the bout reaches 1 million pay-per-view buys, Pacquiao's take would increase to about $20 million while Cotto would draw $12 million.

Pacquiao's two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton for the junior welterweight championship in May sold just less than 900,000. Mayweather scored a unanimous decision vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, surpassing that total to reach 1 million buys to become 2009's No. 1 PPV show.

Arum says there's no rematch clause for Pacquiao-Cotto but both fighters have extended their promotional deals; Cotto until the end of 2011 and Pacquiao, whose current deal ends in November 2010, through 2012. — J. Michael Falgoust

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2009-10-20-mayweather-pacquiao-cotto_N.htm

Manny Pacquiao is like Bruce Lee

Many readers have commented on the upcoming Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto fight on November 14.

Among the more memorable messages is this one, from a Chinese fan: “NICE PACMAN YOUR GREAT…FROM CHINA PEOPLE..YOU LIKE BRUCE LEE HERE IN OUR PLACE….”

The comparison is interesting, because Pacquiao and Lee have at least one thing in common – both were born in the house of Sagittarius (Lee’s birthday was November 27 1940, and Pacquiao’s is December 17 1978).

At a stretch it’s worth noting that two of Pacquiao’s greatest wins have occurred within a fortnight of what would have been Lee’s birthday – his TKO win over Marco Antonio Barrera (November 15, 2003) and his third-round KO of Erik Morales (November 18, 2006). Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Pacquiao agreed to fight Cotto on November 14!

Lee was famous for his abilities as a martial arts fighter, as well as being a movie star, but it seems he tried his hand at boxing too – with great success of course.

According to Wikipedia, Lee won the 1958 Hong Kong Inter-School Boxing Championship by incorporating tactics from the martial art, Wing Chun.

Lee died at the age of 32 on May 10, 1973, more than five years before Pacquiao was born.

Source: http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/longdrop/2009/10/19/manny-pacquiao-is-like-bruce-lee/

PACQUIAO WATCH: Asia’s best guns for immortality

FILIPINO boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao is set to leave for the United States Saturday where he will resume training for his November 14 title fight against Puerto Rican Miguel Angel Cotto. Pacquiao will try to wrest Cotto’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown and annex his seventh title in as many weight divisions.

Although the emergence of a cacophony of alphabet soup titles has watered down the prestige of boxing titles, Manny’s quest for immortality takes no precedence.

No fighter has ever done it before.

In fact, no fighter who started his professional career at 106 pounds has ever invaded the featherweight ranks and took away titles along the way.

Manny is gate-crashing into a weight class that has been dominated for decades by pugilists from the Americas. For all the boxing greats that trotted the welterweight division before, none of them has ever come from Asia.

A look to the Hall of Fame of boxing, Pacquiao had already eclipsed all Asian fighters in the history of the sport.

He captured his first boxing title two weeks before his 20th birthday by stunning undefeated Thai hero Chatchai Saisakul via an eight-round knockout.

He lost his World Boxing Council flyweight title when he failed to tip the scales, eventually dropping a third round knockout loss in an ensuing non-bearing bout.

He however bounced back and shocked South African Lehlohonolo Ledwaba to capture the International Boxing Federation super bantamweight crown in the undercard of the De la Hoya-Castillo light middleweight title fight in June 2001.

Little did Pacquiao know he would fight Oscar de la Hoya as a welterweight seven years after appearing on the same boxing card.

Pacquiao however broke into international fame when he pummeled Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, then reigning featherweight king, into throwing the towel in eleven rounds - six fights and two years later as a small featherweight.

The rest has been history as Manny would wrest titles in the super featherweight, lightweight and super lightweight by defeating Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and Ricky Hatton in the same order.

In his fifteen years of professional boxing, Manny fought, both figuratively and literally, bigger opponents – the most memorable of them Oscar de la Hoya whom he forced to quit on the stool after eight rounds of welterweight boxing in December last year.

Against Cotto, Manny will be fighting in just his third fight north of the 140 pound limit.

Cotto has never fought below the 135-pound limit and is a natural welterweight where he was undefeated until Antonio Margarito knocked him out in July 2008.

Not only is Cotto naturally bigger than Pacquiao, the Puerto Rican is also stronger and younger. Some are saying Cotto is already a shot after his brutal defeat from Margarito.

Whatever it is, a victory over Cotto will place Manny in the solo and enviable spot as the only fighter in the history of boxing to capture seven world titles in seven different weight categories.

Manny is a once-in-a-generation, perhaps in a lifetime, specimen of a boxer gifted with physical attributes that defy physics and demolish conventional wisdom that a good bigger fighter will defeat a smaller good fighter.

A win over Cotto will not only solidify his place in the pantheon of all-time boxing greats, it will also be a triumph of Asians in a sport that was once a fixture of American arenas and may have dated back in the early days of the gladiators.

No Asian sports lover will not celebrate his victory.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-28421.html

Pacquiao abandons Baguio camp

Manny Pacquiao has uprooted his training camp in Baguio City for fear of being stranded there in the coming days owing to the fast-approaching storm that is expected to hit Northern Luzon either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pacquiao, preparing for a Nov. 14 clash with Miguel Cotto, left Baguio City early Monday morning for Manila and was back in training mode right after noontime as he showed up at a gym in Mandaluyong owned and operated by ex-world champion Gerry Peñalosa.

Pacquiao is scheduled to leave for the US this Saturday and will make Peñalosa’s gym as the site of the remaining days of his training camp.

This afternoon, Pacquiao is booked to spar with Shawn Porter, Jose Luis Castillo and possibly against Urbano Antillon or Danny Escobar. Freddie Roach has also lined up the same cast when Pacquiao bangs bodies on Thursday and on Saturday.

The decision to leave Baguio City in haste stemmed from the possibility that Pacquiao might get stranded there in the event the storm causes massive flooding and landslides just like two weeks ago when roads were blocked going in and outside the resort city.

Roach said Pacquiao is already 75 percent condition and by the time they begin working out within the familiar confines of the Wild Card in Hollywood, the 30-year-old southpaw would be near peak-form.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/225516/pacquiao-abandons-baguio-camp

Pacquiao Focuses on Life Inside and Outside Ring

In the Philipines, the expectations of Manny Pacquiao have reached lofty levels: his countrymen are starting to believe that there is nothing their champion can't do.

In preparation for Nov. 14, when he'll challenge WBO welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at a catch-weight of 145 pounds, Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) appears to be in sensational shape thanks to a grueling training regimen.

Reportedly a four-hour ordeal, Pacquiao's workouts are simply "inhumane," said his promoter, Bob Arum, "something very few people in the world" can endure.

Pacquiao is also a political force in his country, where he is running for Congress. There have been typhoons in the Philippines, and Pacquiao is helping to save lives by personally delivering food into devastated areas.

And if you ask Arum, "Pacquiao's people" are close to believing that he is more powerful than a locomotive, is able to out-run a speeding bullet, and is capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

Ironically, the fighter whose nickname is "The Pac Man" even spent time last month filming a movie in the Philippines in which he plays a super hero -- Wambat Man -- whose powers are a combination of those of Superman and Spiderman.

"Wait until you see what the HBO cameras caught on film," said Arum, referring to the cable network's 24/7 series documenting the fighters' camps leading up to their matchup. "They got Manny swimming in an outdoor pool in the middle of a typhoon. It's amazing. But then, this kid is truly amazing."

Arum believes that Pacquiao, who lost his last bid for Congress in the local district, should have a better shot this time "and perhaps get the biggest vote in history if he chooses to run on the party list in the national election."

"Manny's becoming like a god-like figure to these people, but part of it is that he's so unassuming," Arum said of Pacquiao, who is often trailed by admirers during his early morning runs. "He just acts like he's one of them, and they just love him."

Pacquiao's popularity has crossed over into America, where last month, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at San Diego's PETCO Park before the Padres' baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Most recently, Pacquiao was shown flexing his upper torso in ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue, which featured other celebrities -- some of them nude -- such as tennis star Serena Williams and the Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson.

Arum has witnessed Pacquaio's present workouts, which have taken place approximately a mile above sea level at Baguio City's Shape-Up Gym in the Philippines since Sept. 21.

"Before he does anything, he goes down into a corner of the room, kneels down, crosses himself, and says a prayer. Then, Manny does the usual warming up exercises to get limbered up and so forth," Arum said of Pacquiao.

"And then, Manny spars with real life sparring partners, at least 10 rounds," said Arum. "In between rounds, he doesn't sit down."

Pacquaio, who is required to complete 160 rounds of sparring, has employed among his foils former world champion Jose Luis Castillo and Shawn Porter, and could also use either Urbano Antillon or Danny Escobar.

Porter, 21, of Akron, Ohio, is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Antillon, 27, of Maywood, Calif., is 26-1 with 19 KOs. Escobar, 20, of Riverside, Calif., is 3-0 with as many KOs.

"After the sparring, Manny goes right into hitting the mitts," held by trainer, Freddie Roach, "for 10-or-12 rounds -- never stopping between rounds," said Arum. "Then he hits the heavy bag -- not so much the speed bag -- for 45 minutes. Then he jumps rope."

And then, "Manny does these amazing friggin excercises -- the crunches, contortions of his body in different directions," said Arum. "It looks like it's excruciatingly difficult, and it's stuff that I've never seen before."

Arum said the completion of Pacquiao's workout involves "an assistant trainer, with a stick, hitting him like a mad man right in the stomach for like 20 minutes," he said. "It's like, Boom! Boom!. It's directly onto his bare stomach. You're just cringing."

But Pacquiao is nothing if not brave, having broken training earlier this month to provide aid during typhoons that have caused the country's worst flooding in four decades and, reportedly, some 500 deaths.

Typhoon Parma began on Sept. 26, near Baguio City.

After a Saturday workout in Baguio, Arum said Pacquiao drove some 125 miles "through a rainstorm down to Manila to give away food to the people who were made homeless by the floods on the Sunday following training in addition to contributing money."

Pacquiao is unassuming about his volunteering.

"We do as much as we can do when it comes to helping each other," Pacquiao said. "My efforts with the relief efforts are no more important than any other volunteers. It was my honor to be allowed to lend a hand."

The fighter will leave for Los Angeles this Saturday. The ensuing Monday begins Pacquiao's regimen at 2008 Trainer Of The Year Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym. On Nov. 9, Pacquiao will leave The Wild Card for Las Vegas.

Since his career began at 106 pounds in January 1995, Pacquiao has won titles at flyweight (115 pounds), super bantamweight (122), super featherweight (130), lightweight (135) and junior welterweight (140), with notable wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

The 2008 Fighter Of The Year shares an alternate nickname, "The Greatest," with another former champion -- a comparison Arum said is not that far off.

"The closest I've seen to this kid's adoration is when Muhammad Ali came back from the three years when he was deprived of fighting. There were segments of the population that just couldn't get enough of Ali," said Arum.

"This kid has that type of relationship with the people, except that Ali had some people who resented him because of the stand he took in the Viet Nam war," said Arum. "Unlike Ali, there doesn't seem to be a segment of the people who don't like Pacquiao."

Source: http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/pacquiao-focuses-on-life-inside-and-outside-ring/

All work, no play for Freddie Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach has fallen in love with Baguio City but while admitting the summer capital is a romantic place, he said yesterday there’s no time for romance as it’s all business in Manny Pacquiao’s training camp.

A certified bachelor, Roach said he’s currently unattached. “No Filipina girlfriend,” he added. “Not yet.”

Roach, who arrived in Manila from Los Angeles early morning last Sept. 22 and immediately went to Baguio City to work out with Pacquiao that afternoon, said he was never against training in the high-altitude location, about 5,000 feet above sea level.

“I was never against it,” he said from his Manor House suite. “I was concerned about the time zone, the jet lag Manny will have to overcome when he flies to the US. But I think adjusting is no problem. We’ll arrive in Los Angeles three weeks before the fight.”

Pacquiao set up camp in Baguio City last Sept. 20. He will break camp and leave for Manila next Thursday. Then, Pacquiao will train for two days at Gerry Peñalosa’s gym in the Marketplace Mall on Kalentong Street, Mandaluyong. On Saturday night, Oct. 24, Pacquiao and his team will depart for Los Angeles via Philippine Airlines.

Roach said the plan to train at Rod Nazario’s Wild Card Gym in Parañaque after coming down from Baguio was scrapped because the ring in Peñalosa’s facility is more suited for sparring.

“Manny’s hitting harder and he’s stronger than ever before,” said Roach. “I can feel his power when we do the mitts.”

As for Baguio, Roach said there’s no difference training in the city or the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

“The Shape-Up Gym (in Cooyeesan Hotel Plaza) is a beautiful facility, no different from our Wild Card,” said Roach. “We’re doing everything we would be doing at Wild Card. When we’re training, we don’t let the fans in just like at Wild Card so it’s the same situation. We follow the same schedule, run in the morning and do work in the gym in the afternoon. We do the same thing wherever we are. We train just as hard in Los Angeles or anywhere else. Right now, we’re enjoying our best training camp ever. Manny’s comfortable and he’s happy. We’ve got the best quality sparring partners and that’s vital.”

Roach said when it’s not storming, Baguio City is the perfect place to be.

“It’s a wonderful city,” he said. “It’s sunny in the morning then it gets cloudy but pleasant in the afternoon. You can’t do anything about the typhoons. That’s Mother Nature at work. But there’s no upside to the storms. We prefer no typhoons. I heard there’s another storm coming this weekend.”

Roach said he doesn’t mind the fans crowding him for photographs and autographs. “I think Filipino fans are great,” he said. “I love the Filipino people. It’s a good feeling that they recognize me for what I’ve done in boxing and with Manny.”

Roach said when Pacquiao reports for training in Los Angeles, he will go hard in the first week and spar 12 rounds.

“We’ll fly in Saturday,” said Roach. “Manny will rest on Sunday then we start heavy training on Monday. We’ve got two weeks in Los Angeles before we drive to Las Vegas on the Monday of fight week. We’ll be ready for Cotto on Nov. 14.”

Pacquiao and Cotto agreed to face off at a catchweight limit of 145 pounds with the Puerto Rican’s WBO welterweight crown at stake.

The other day, Pacquiao weighed in at 146 pounds after sparring with Porter, Antillon and Castillo.

Roach said Pacquiao should make the 145-pound limit easily and he expects the ring icon to climb the ring at 149, no more than 150, even if Cotto will likely enter close to 160.

Antillon, 27, is scheduled to fly out to Los Angeles today after staying three weeks in Baguio. He is preparing for a comeback after suffering his first loss to Miguel Acosta last July. Antillon once knocked out Pacquiao’s brother Bobby in a single round and has a 26-1 record, with 19 KOs. His departure leaves Pacquiao with Shawn Porter, Danny Escobar and former two-time WBC lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo as sparmates.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=514917&publicationSubCategoryId=69

Pacman floors sparmate twice

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao flooring Shawn Porter twice in sparring last Thursday doesn’t mean much for his chief trainer, Freddie Roach.

“Nothing,” said the three-time Trainer of the Year over the phone yesterday from Baguio City, right after another heavy, non-sparring day at the Shape Up Gym.

“It only means that he’s ready for the fight and that he’s doing very well,” Roach told The STAR, saying that Porter, the undefeated 21-year-old junior middleweight was floored twice by Pacquiao.

Roach said Pacquiao sparred four rounds with Porter, and caught the big and burly native of Ohio, a 2007 National Golden Gloves champion, with two powerful lefts in the third round of their skirmish.

“Yes, Shawn went down twice but he came back very well and caught Manny with a good hook. He came back very well,” said Roach, adding that Pacquiao also sparred four rounds with Jose Luis Castillo.

An Internet report said Castillo, the former WBC lightweight champion who came very close to beating Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2002, had blood on his nose after sparring with the hard-hitting Filipino.

As of Thursday, Pacquiao has logged a total of 46 rounds of sparring, and as the rounds increase to 10 and 12 over the next few days, he should have close to 150 rounds on the book before training ends.

Roach said Pacquiao has decided to cut short his stay in Baguio by a day. He said they should be in Manila on the evening of Thursday, instead of Friday, and train two days in a local gym before flying to Los Angeles on Saturday evening.

“It’s a little hectic coming down so we pushed the date a day ahead,” said Roach, referring to the terrible road conditions from Baguio all the way down to Manila due to the recent spate of typhoons to hit the country.

Pacquiao will hold sparring today against Porter and Castillo, who seemed to have impressed Roach with his style.

“I like his style because he likes to come in and tends to lean forward,” said Roach, close to saying that Castillo, who had two memorable fights with the late Diego Corrales, fights like Cotto.

A few days ago, there was a thread at Pacand, the highly popular Pacquiao website, saying that the Filipino pound-for-pound champion got knocked down in sparring.

But Nonoy Neri of Team Pacquiao was quick to brush it aside.

“Nothing like that. No knockdowns,” he said.

Not until Thursday, when Porter, not Pacquiao, hit the floor. Not once but twice.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=514910&publicationSubCategoryId=69

Pacquiao-Cotto 24/7

Number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world Manny Pacquiao will be making his third appearance in the HBO documentary series “24/7”. The Emmy Award-winning series will feature the preparations leading to the “Pacquiao vs Cotto” match this coming November 14 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new four-episode series will debut in the US on October 24 with the remaining episodes on October 31, November 7 and the final episode will air on the eve of the fight, November 13.

“The ‘24/7' franchise provides an engaging and accurate look into the lives of boxers as they toil and sacrifice to get ready for a huge showdown in the ring,” Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports.

“Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are dynamic individuals in and out of the ring, and our cameras will be there to capture all the drama prior to their fall face-off,” he added.

Manny Pacquiao was first featured in the 24/7 series when he was preparing to fight boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya whom he defeated last December 2008. His second was with Ricky Hatton whom he knocked out last May in just 2 rounds.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-28278.html

Roach wants Cotto disqualified if…

Legendary trainer Freddie Roach wants one specific but stricter rule implemented in the 12-round face-off between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. Interviewed by Fightnews at the upscale Manor Hotel, Roach said he will insist during the rules meeting that an automatic disqualification be imposed for the first intentional low blow thrown during the match. “Cotto tends to get dirty when the going gets tough in most of his fights and I don’t want that to happen. I will make sure the referee will be very strict about it,” said Roach.

One fight that Roach said saw Cotto get away with the supposed ploy was the Puerto Rican’s welterweight bout against American Zab Judah back in November 2007.

Though Cotto stopped Judah in the 11th round, the American did not easily give up and even had the Puerto Rican wobbly at times.

“Cotto stops his opponents momentum with that kind of blow. In that Judah fight he had five low blows,” said Roach.

Another issue Roach wants to bring up is the choice of the referee for the bout. The amiable trainer said he learned about seasoned referee Joe Cortez having an inside track in getting the job.

“Joe Cortez is Puerto Rican and he’s in the running as one of the referees. I don’t want him letting Cotto get away with stuff like that. We’re going to make an issue of it first,” said Roach.

Meantime Roach dismissed rumors they plan to leave earlier than expected after intermittent rains hampered this city last week.

Roach insists they will leave the country on the 24th and that despite the bad weather in the city, it has not caused any major negative effect as far as their training is concerned.

“As long as I’m seeing Manny happy there won’t be any problem. So far he’s in high spirits,” said Roach.

Friday morning Roach was able to convince Pacquiao to try swimming to make up for lost time in their road work.

Non-stop rains last weekend forced Pacquiao to work out on a thread mill, something which Roach believes would not be enough to compensate for their inability to run in the mornings.

Source: http://www.fightnews.com/?p=26283

Pacquiao vs. Cotto: Miguel Will Burst the Manny Mystique

Manny Pacquiao has been largely lionized in the past year by the boxing public since beating Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. It’s sad that boxing fans have been so gullible as to be influenced by two pretty much empty wins as these when crowing Pacquiao as the top fighter in the sport. It’s actually sad when you think about it because it shows that fans don’t really have a great knowledge about the sport and can’t put wins in perspective.

Miguel Cotto is a great fighter, certainly better than De La Hoya and Hatton at this stage in my view. Maybe Hatton and De La Hoya were equally as good fighters at one point in their careers, but not by the time that they got to Pacquiao. Few boxing experts would agree that Hatton and De La Hoya had seen better days by the time that they fought Pacquiao.

So the fighters that Pacquiao faced were played out and vulnerable to getting beaten. And to a certain extent the same thing applies to Cotto, although he still has a lot despite his horrible 11th round stoppage loss to Antonio Margarito last year. Okay, so once we recognize that boxing fans have made the miscalculation of seeing Pacquiao as the top dog in the sport based on his empty wins over De La Hoya and Hatton, we must look at how good Pacquiao really is as a fighter.

The answer to that question, perhaps, can be answered by looking at Pacquiao’s “win” last year over Juan Manuel Marquez. In that fight, Pacquiao was out-boxed in eight of the twelve rounds by Marquez, yet the judges scored the fight for Pacquiao by a 12 round split decision.

I saw the fight five times in a row, okay, and I’m telling you that Marquez should have won that fight, period. I can take the fact that the judges saw it differently, while a massive amount of boxing experts like myself saw it as a Marquez win, but it tells you how good Pacquiao really is.

It doesn’t really matter who won the fight. What matters is that Pacquiao struggled badly against Marquez and won a controversial 12 round split decision. That much we can agree on. Marquez was Pacquiao’s last good opponent. I’m not taking anything away from Hatton or De La Hoya because they were great fighters in their day, but clearly not the same fighters by the time they fought Pacquiao.

But, really, Marquez is the last good fighter that Pacquiao fought and he looked horrible against Marquez. Since Pacquiao had a tough fight against Marquez, that you have to assume is about how good Pacquiao is a as a fighter. You can’t use De La Hoya or Hatton as a measuring sticking because they both looked like condemned fighters as they entered the ring against Pacquiao and didn’t look at all good.

Who besides Marquez can you use in recent history to judge how good Pacquiao is? David Diaz? How about a faded Marco Antonio Barrera? Other than Marquez, you really have to go back years to where Pacquiao fought Erik Morales in their first fight before you see Pacquiao fighting a live body who wasn’t faded, weight drained or just plain not that good.

Okay, so now we bring in Miguel Cotto, who I admit is still probably a little shaken from his beat down from Margarito last year, and put him in with Pacquiao. Say what you want about Cotto’s defensive skills, he’s a great offensive fighter and can punch like few others in the welterweight division. So you put Pacquiao in with Cotto and what do you expect will happen? The answer is in how Pacquiao fought against Marquez. Pacquiao is going to struggle and struggle big time against Cotto and end up taking a beating on November 14th. That’s just the way it is.


Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/10/pacquiao-vs-cotto-miguel-will-burst-the-manny-mystique/

Pacquiao safe at 150 for bout

MANILA, Philippines - Steady at 150.

With still 34 days before the big fight, Manny Pacquiao hovered around 150 lb and should have no problem making the catchweight of 145 lb when he faces Miguel Cotto for the WBO welterweight crown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Nonoy Neri of Team Pacquiao yesterday said Pacquiao tipped the scales at 150 the other day after working at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City. He said the reigning pound-for-pound champ is now training as hard and eating as much.

“He’s very comfortable right now because he gets to eat anything he likes. And by training so hard, he stays at 150. He can lose the five pounds in the last two weeks of training and he’ll be safe,” said Neri, a long-time Pacquiao assistant.

Cotto, who agreed to stake his 147 lb title at a catchweight two pounds lower, said during last month’s press tour in the United States he was at 160 lb, and Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said this should favor the FIlipino icon.

“Cotto has to work harder than us making weight,” said Ariza.

Pacquiao’s chief trainer, Freddie Roach, said Pacquiao is where he should be right now as they entered their third week of training in the country’s summer capital. They will move to Los Angeles on Oct. 24, and to Las Vegas a week before the Nov. 14 fight.

There were reports, however, that Pacquiao might fly to the US earlier because of the spate of typhoons that have hit the country and may have had an effect on his training in Baguio City, which has been terribly affected by typhoon “Pepeng” this week.

Jose Luis Castillo, the former WBC lightweight champion, arrived in Manila yesterday along with super-lightweight Danny Escobar but couldn’t proceed to Baguio to spar with Pacquiao because the major roads leading to the city are impassable due to flooding or landslides.

It’s the first time Pacquiao will fight at 145 lb, even if he took on Oscar dela Hoya at 147 last December. For the fight against the Golden Boy, Pacquiao tipped the scales on the eve of the fight at 142 lb and climbed the ring at 148 1/2.

For this fight, Roach has set the numbers.

“I see him (Pacquiao) coming into the fight at 149 lb, the heaviest he’ll be in,” said Roach.”He was 148 1/2 for Oscar and 147 for Ricky Hatton last May.”

“But I don’t want him going over 150 because going past 150 will make him sluggish. I don’t care if Cotto climbs the ring at 165. We’ll stay at 150 or less,” said Roach, adding that for the official weigh-in the Pinoy champ should be at arounf 143 lb.

Again, weight is no weighty issue for Pacquiao.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=513167&publicationSubCategoryId=69

Pacman’s right on track

Top trainer Freddie Roach sent Manny Pacquiao through the wringer on Tuesday as the Filipino fighter traded bombs for a total of six rounds—three rounds each—with super-welterweight Shawn Porter and super-lightweight Urbano Antillon in his training camp in Baguio City. Since kicking off with the sparring sessions exactly a week ago yesterday, Pacquiao has now logged a total of 18 rounds, still a hundred or so short of the usual target of 130-plus rounds by the time he and his team motor to Las Vegas during the week leading to his Nov. 14 clash with Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.

Pacquiao spars every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and will do just that possibly until a week or even five days before the 12-round welterweight match at the MGM Grand. Team Pacquiao is also awaiting the arrival of Mexican Jose Luis Castillo, who is set to plane in Thursday morning. If he arrives in time, Roach will ask him to begin sparring with Pacquiao on Saturday.

Roach had told Manila-based scribes who visited Pacquiao training camp last week that there’ll be plenty of sparring rounds and more hard work that will come the pound-for-pound king’s way as they enter the third week of preparation.

Pacquiao began his Baguio training on Sept. 21 although he had worked out a sweat twice in Manila before making the arduous climb to the City of Pines. Lending a hand to Roach are conditioning coach Alex Ariza, Buboy and Roger ‘Flash’ Fernandez, Nonoy Neri and two-time world champion Dodie Boy Penalosa.

Team Pacquiao will stay in Baguio until Oct. 24, which is a Saturday, as the boxer and his entourage motor down to Manila after the workout to catch a late-night Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles.

Owing to the 15-hour time difference, Pacquiao will arrive in Los Angeles on the same day and would have the luxury of a day-off the following day to prepare for the tough grind at the Wild Card on Monday.

Cotto, meanwhile, is also neck-deep in training at the Fight Factory in Tampa, Florida.

Cotto’s preparation is being closely monitored by head trainer Joe Santiago and conditioning coach Phil Landman, who had earlier joined hands in the pre-conditioning of the shaven-skulled banger in Puerto Rico as early as August.

Source: fightnews.com

Pacquiao too illusive, if not magical, for a “Jet-weight Cotto” Pacquiao Cotto Poster

I witnessed how the Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before the upbeat crowd of over 18,000. Cayotes’ victory was less tight at 6-3. Speed and illusiveness were the differential factors of the power play. Nevertheless, it has been a tumultuous off-season for the Coyotes, who have endured bankruptcy and a recent coaching change. The franchise was put under bankruptcy protection in May and coach Wayne Gretzky quit nine days before the start of the season.

Well, as I watched the game, I thought I can somehow impart to Cotto some wisdom from the hockey rink. Cotto can only focus on what he can control as much as what the Los Angeles Kings attempted to do. I think Pacquiao’s speed and illusiveness might be too much for Cotto, unless he starts using now an eye-patch alternatively to either eye during his training sessions - which, of course, neither the Cayotes nor the Los Angeles ever did - to improve his peripheral vision and to control his range and angular dimensions. That, I insist it can help him evade some whistling discharges of Pacquiao’s left and right crosses.

Of course unlike the Cayotes, Cotto does not need to deal with a surface for ice-skating or roller-skating. Not even Pacquiao.

But, Cotto, flat-footed that he is, has less chances of remarkably asserting his agility over Pacquiao’s style of a cockfighting Kelso. He lacks fast lateral movements. I suppose Cotto’s bigger face is simply an easy moving target.

In the past two weeks, I reviewed nine tapes of Cotto’s last fights. And what I can draw from all angles is that Catch-weight King Pacquiao would be too illusive, if not magical, for “Jet-weight Cotto.” I say “Jet-weight” in the sense that, like Jet-weight King Fraud Mickey May, Cotto is likely not to comply the catch-weight limit and may rather pay the penalty, if there’s any, simply to conserve his natural size and strength.

And never forget, Cotto is capable of showing ring generalship over Pacquiao but may not have enough overwhelming recompense for defense, that the latter would just shine through out of sweet science like a diamond in the making as he surges to another level and once he feels the intensity of heat and pressure in the frenzy air of the MGM Grand Arena of Las Vegas, Nevada, this November 14.

Meanwhile, I received 238 e-mails this weekend inquiring about my take on Cotto-Pacquiao fight. They asked me so because they said I have been a bit accurate of my predictions of all Pacquiao’s fights in the U.S., inclusive of his loss to Eric Morales in their first encounter on March 19, 2005.

But, hold on to your conviction. Your reliance on my suppositions might be detrimental to your betting. I am not a boxing prophet. Nor am I beholden to crystal balls’ spirit of prophecy.

Conversely, bloodless as it was told, I rather want you to check on my intimation on Pacquiao versus Hatton which was brought to light in my article dated March 14, 2009, “Hatton may just freeze this late spring!”, which Hatton indeed froze. Here’s the link of said article at Philboxing.com: http://philboxing.com/news/list.articles.php?aid=1338&id=22835.

Another article dated December 3, 2008, which highlighted about the prospect of Pacquiao’s dominating performance over De la Hoya, captured the hearts of faith: “Pacman’s Mighty Fortress, Bolstering His Aura of Invincibility”. Here’s the link: http://philboxing.com/news/list.articles.php?aid=1338&id=20444.

As for Pacquiao-Cotto fight, I believe Cotto will bleed into submission. And, it’s going to be Pacquiao by brutal knockout again!

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-27984.html

Pacquiao’s speed awes sparmate

Manny Pacquiao is joined by his regular retinue plus his dog, Pacman, a Jack Russell, during his training in Baguio City’s Burnham Park on Wednesday. (Photo by RIZALDY COMMANDA)

Undefeated super-welterweight Shawn Porter, the main sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao, asserted on Wednesday that he wasn’t bothered by the Filipino’s vaunted power but admitted he was awed by the pound-for-pound king’s other inimitable trait.

“Its’ not much about his power, it’s his speed,” Porter told the Bulletin.

The Ohio-bred Porter is said to be a clone of Miguel Cotto, who Pacquiao faces on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Porter, 21, the 2007 US Golden Gloves middleweight champion and alternate on the 2008 Olympic team, battled Pacquiao for three intense rounds at the Shape Up Gym inside the Cooyeesan Hotel in Baguio City.

In Thursday’s media day, Porter is going to be sent up again to bang with Pacquiao although their session will last for only two rounds since Pacquiao has also to contend with another sparmate, lightweight Urbano Antillon, for two rounds.

“I am looking forward to my second sparring with Manny, who is a great person outside the ring,” said Porter, who flew in last Sunday but only got to Baguio the following day owing to the inclement weather.

Taking center stage as well during Thursday’s open workout for the media is Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who is arriving this morning from the US. Arum, who heads Top Rank Inc. will be in Baguio until Sunday morning.

In the coming weeks, Pacquiao will have to deal with Porter and Antillon and possibly another one to be flown over if ever Pacquiao decides to extend his training camp in the City of Pines.

Meanwhile, Cotto’s own training camp is doing very well, Bryan Perez, the Puerto Rican’s aide-de-camp revealed on Thursday.

Cotto has been working out at the Fight Factory in Tampa, Florida, the past two weeks.

“Everything is running up pretty well right now,” said Perez, who is also joined there by chief trainer Joe Santiago and conditioning coach Phil Landman.

Team Pacquiao awaits Cotto ‘clone’

BAGUIO CITY - There was a faint, however palpable, murmur of doubt from the boxing online community when trainer Freddie Roach said Manny Pacquiao will weld Miguel Cotto’s behind to the canvas when the two clash on November 14 in Las Vegas.

Shawn Porter, though, thinks the doubters are in for a surprise. “He’s going to shock the world again,” Porter said.

That’s from a guy who earned his share of applause from an appreciative gym crowd after landing jarring punches and crisp combinations at the Filipino pound-for-pound icon Thursday, the second day of sparring for Pacquiao.

“He’s getting hit too much but that’s because his timing isn’t there yet,” said Roach, who noted that Pacquiao generally starts off slow during the opening two weeks of training camp.

“First couple of weeks aren’t always the best. But we don’t really start boxing until six weeks before the fight so we’re still ahead of schedule.”

Pacquiao, though, didn’t seem to be bothered by the hits, opening himself up to barrages while leaning on the ropes as if to say he can absorb the best that his sparring partners can dish off. And to underscore that point, Team Pacquiao is planning in yet another beast of a sparring partner in Omar Henry, another Cotto clone.

“[Henry has] the same build, same everything, same haircut; the guy likes to be Miguel Cotto,” said conditioning coach Alex Ariza of the sparring partner who is expected here within the week.

Porter, though, admitted that he felt the sting in Pacquiao’s punches this early and said that the first few days of sparring isn’t much of a gauge as far as preparedness is concerned.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Porter. “It’s just a matter of staying focused and getting him more ready.”

This early, Pacquiao has now logged seven rounds of sparring and Roach admits that they’re still at 40 percent for the fight against Cotto, where the Pacman will be aiming to gobble up the Puerto Rican’s WBO welterweight title in an attempt to become the first boxer to win world crowns in seven different—including lineal belts.

“He still needs work on his timing but I’m really happy,” Roach said. “I’m not completely satisfied because he leaned on the ropes too much. His performance today isn’t what’s going to beat Cotto but that’s why we’re here.”

Roach had earlier predicted that Pacquiao would knock Cotto out in their bout slated at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Porter, pressed for a prediction, begged off. Although he made it clear he wasn’t betting against the Filipino.

“Hey, that’s the Pacman,” Porter, who was accompanied by his father and coach Ken to the sparring session, said. “He’s definitely the best of the best.”

Meanwhile, Top Rank chief Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, arrived here Thursday and was greeted by a throng of supporters at the Shape Up boxing gym where the Filipino trains while in this bustling summer capital.

Arum arrived in Manila early morning and flew directly here with former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson.

Pacquiao started his work out by warming up and stretching with Ariza in front of clicking cameras as Roach opened the doors of the gym to the media.

“That’s why he was playing around a bit, putting a show for you guys,” Roach joked.

Pacquiao, who the night before played 10 games of basketball to continue whipping himself into competitive shape, then worked the bags before heading to the ring for four rounds of sparring; two with Porter and with Mexican Urbano Atillano. He then skipped rope before capping his day’s training session with frenetic shadow boxing.

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20091001-227880/Team-Pacquiao-awaits-Cotto-clone

Roach: “He’s [Pacquiao] getting hit too much”

By Manuel Perez: It seems as if Manny Pacquiao is having some problems with his sparring in the early portion of his training camp in Baguio City, in the Philippines. According to an article in the sports.inquirer, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach had this to say about Pacquiao: “He’s [Pacquiao] getting hit too much.” Ah, that’s not good news for Pacquiao fans because he’s still only sparring and hasn’t even faced Miguel Cotto yet.

Roach didn’t say which sparring partner was putting hands on Pacquiao, but if I was to guess, I’d say it was Shawn Porter, the fast light middleweight that they’ve brought into camp to mimic Cotto’s fighting style. Apparently, Roach is going to be bringing in another sparring partner, unbeaten light middleweight Omar Henry (5-0, 5 KO’s), another powerful fighter with a style similar to Cotto’s.

I wonder why Roach is bringing in Henry? Could it be that the other sparring partners aren’t big enough to mimic Cotto’s size and power? Urabano Antillon, one of the sparring partners that Roach is using, is a lightweight and only 5′7″. I still can’t understand why Roach chose to bring Antillon to camp. If Pacquiao were to be fighting a lightweight or a super featherweight, I could understand it, but he’s going to be facing a much bigger welterweight in Cotto and Antillon seems like someone who is ill equipped to prepare Pacquiao for what he’ll be facing.

Aside from the sparring partner issue, I’m really worried now about how Roach is saying that Pacquiao is getting hit too much. That’s not a good sign. I don’t know what Pacquiao can do in this case. He may very well be in trouble.

Porter wouldn’t predict a winner between Cotto and Pacquiao. That’s also not a good sign. Usually, people, whether sparring partners or not, when asked about a certain fighter, they freely admit who they think will win the fight. Porter hasn’t done this for some reason. Could it be that he doesn’t want to hurt Pacquiao’s feelings by picking Cotto? By now, Porter must know how much Pacquiao has in him and whether or not he can beat a talented fighter like Cotto.

The fact that Porter isn’t picking anyone to win the fight, could be a sign that he sees Pacquiao losing the fight on November 14th? Pacquiao has had things easy in his last two bouts, beating Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya, two popular fighters but who appeared to be on the downside of their careers.

Cotto, however, is still fighting really well and although he got taken out last year by Mexican Antonio Margarito in an 11th round stoppage, Cotto has come back since then with two wins over Michael Jennings and Joshua Clottey. Cotto looked good in both fights and back to his pre-Margarito form.

It might have been a little bit better for Cotto to have another two fights under his belt before facing Pacquiao to ensure that there are no lingering effects from his knockout loss to Margarito that could be a problem. But Pacquiao picked him out of the pack, bypassing Shane Mosley and Paul Williams.

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/10/roach-%E2%80%9Che%E2%80%99s-pacquiao-getting-hit-too-much/

Miguel Cotto Training Video Quietly Gaining Great Shape For Pacqiuao Vs Cotto

It's been quiet a distance from Puerto Rico's best boxer and number one fighter in the world of boxing Miguel Cotto gaining a great shape in the preparation for Pacquiao Vs Cotto match on November 14. As you have watch Miguel Cotto training video quietly gaining great shape for Pacqiuao Vs Cotto match showing for public and fans while on training.