FR I think that his confidence was probably down a little after the Margarito fight, the fight before Clottey was just an opponent and I dont think he trained that hard. I believe that the troubles he had with his trainer and family in his camp for Clottey may have affected his performance. Everything is OK now and he has been in camp a month early which tells me how seriously he is taking this fight. I believe he knows how important the Pacquiao fight is to his career. He is at a point that for him to move forward and put the past behind him, he MUST win this fight. You can capitalize "must" when you write this up. If anyone thinks this will be an easy fight then they are simply fools. DT So he will not come into this fight and electrify us like he did when he iced Ricky Hatton? FR David, he has had three straight perfect fights, he is obviously at his peak right now. Its very hard to stay at that level. Cotto certainly has his hands full but he has some advantages against us. By fight time he will be 20 pounds heavier than us. He will be the bigger, stronger fighter who is a very resilient guy. Of course he has started to cut lately and Im hoping that will be a factor for us. Mannys speed will bust him up a little bit, I hope. I just believe that Cotto is taking this fight more serious than any fight he has had. He knows the importance of looking good in the fight and he will not go down easy like some of Mannys previous opponents. He will be at the top of his physical and mental game. Hell, he would love to walk around and people tell him youre the guy that beat Manny Pacquiao when he was the best in the world. All memories of Margarito will be forgotten. DT Do you have a phone number for his trainer? FR Sure, I will call you with his number this evening. DT I have noticed hundreds of Pinoys in the parking lot that have traveled many miles to get a peek at the ninja. What happen to the good ole days when it was an open camp? FR David, heres the way it is, when I would open the gym to the public and everything was going great, there were no problems. After the Morales loss, everyone said it was my fault for having an open gym and I started thinking that maybe I made a mistake and you must learn from your mistakes. I had thought that by allowing his fans in the gym that he would perform extra hard to impress them all, it wasnt that way, he would get playful while sparring and show off for the audience. The closed sessions are best for his career. DT If I dont go to the PI with you can I still ask you questions by e-mail? FR Certainly. I would also like to say on behalf of my Mother and Brothers that we appreciate all the calls, e-mails, and letters of condolence over the loss of my Brother Joey. This means a lot to my Mother and I appreciate the sympathy and prayers from all my friends. DT You got it. I will see you again when the press tour stops in Los Angeles. Can we then sit down with Manny and go over the readers questions? FR No Problem, anything, anytime. Youre always welcome.
FR – Cotto is a bigger more resilient person, he is a true 147 pound fighter, he is very strong, he is a tough guy, and I will say this, sure he didn’t look good in the Margarito fight, but we all know that there were probably other influences in that fight. As for the Clottey fight, who looks good fighting Clottey? Cotto had a bad cut over his eye and took some big shots from Clottey, yet he did not go down and kept slugging away and won the decision. That shows me something, Cotto knows this is his biggest fight from a promotional sense he also knows that he can erase the memory of Margarito with a victory over Manny. He has already started training because he is taking this fight very, very, seriously more than any fight he has ever had. Cotto knows that the future of any fighter is only as good as his last fight. Having said all that don’t get me wrong, we will win this fight, I have studied the tapes and I know how Manny will win. Manny is the top P4P fighter in the world and I will not let him lose that title, it means too much to both of us. I will have him prepared with the great sparring partners that I’m bringing to camp…..
I will be very very impressed if Manny pulls this off. I can honestly say if he does that I got to see a truly great fighter in his prime.
did you know that right now you can get +187 for Cotto? That means that if Cotto has more than a 35% chance of winning the fight then you are beating the odds.
I couldn't agree more. This fight for Manny would truly be a cherry on top. Of course if he beats PBF then just add the syrup and the letters GOAT!
my pick is pacman by knockout between 7 and 10 rounds but iwouldnt bet the ranch on it,actually i wouldnt be surprise if cotto pulled i out
I didn't think Hatton was a dangerous fight at all. We'd already seen how a sharp punching Mayweather could break Hatton down with accumulation, but a sharp punching, explosive guy like Manny was always going to kick his ass. He just did it faster than I expected. Cotto is a VERY different story. He won't come in thinking he's going to bull through Pacquiao - he'll take his time, give up the early rounds to get hard body shots in and come on strong in the mid-rounds. I think the wheels are coming off for Manny. He's had it all his own way in his last three fights and now he's going to take some punishment back.
This fight is dangerous because of the weight. Other than that, Pac has just about every advantage, imo.
Pac will lose because he insisted that he will train in the Philippines instead of Mexico to finish filming for his movies and shows. He will not be 100% focused because of the distractions and he will also not come prepared for Cotto this Nov.
Let's not get silly, Pac is the clear favourite here. He's expected to win at 3-1 odds, you can find Cotto +230 at some books. There's no miracle if Pac wins, it's what's expected, he's faster and more accurate than Cotto. Cotto is known to be open for uppercuts and has severely deteriorated since the Margarito loss. I like Pacquiao by KO within 6 rounds. I will have a big bet on this fight not going the distance, but the most likely outcome is an early or mid-round KO for Pac. Cotto is easy to hit these days and his once questionable chin is now an unquestionable handicap. He is wobbled by a strong breeze.
