From a news report: Manny Pacquiao will answer the opening bell for the November 14 clash with Miguel Cotto armed with 150 rounds of tough sparring. Top trainer Freddie Roach said on Wednesday from the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City that they will stick with the tried and tested training program which he and conditioning coach Alex Ariza devised in the buildup to the Cotto fight set at the MGM Grand. This content is protected Roach said the 35-year-old Castillo is flying in this morning from Los Angeles and should be ready to spar on Saturday. Castillo, now fighting as a welterweight, is coming off a knockout win last September 12 and is said to be on a rebound to get back into world title contention. Pacquiao confidant Mike Koncz, who personally picked Castillo on the advice of Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran, assures Roach that Castillo will give Pacquiao quality time on top of the ring. I was given the assurance that Castillo is in shape, said Koncz. Roach warns that if Castillo ends up resembling like a tourist frolicking at Burnham Park and winds up getting busted up, he will shove him back to Manila so he could get the first flight out. Roach stressed that while some people tend to believe that Cotto is going to be easy pickings for Pacquiao, the 49-year-old former featherweight contender wouldnt acknowledge that. Roach is wary of what Cotto could bring to the ring that he is not taking any chances. Same as before. We wont cut back on anything, said Roach, who will camp out in the City of Pines with Ariza and Filipino assistants Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri and two-time world champion Dodie Boy Peñalosa before leaving for the US on October 24. Roach said he expects the 30-year-old Pacquiao to be in 80 percent condition by the time they begin the first workout at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood on October 26. So far, Pacquiao has logged a total of 18 rounds of sparring after going three each with Porter and Antillon last Tuesday. Porter, whose style is similar to that of Cotto but is much faster, usually starts the sparring session and is Pacquiao's main sparmate. --- Nick Giongco ---------------------------------------------------------- This content is protected :bbb
I'm so glad that the "Manny isn't training" and "we can't find Manny" news has died down...now, I'm not as nervous as I was for him initially.
Glad to see that Pac is as sharp as ever because I do not want any excuses when he gets his reality check on Nov 14th.
Yeah. We wouldn't want to look like Cotto was weight drained, past his prime, not himself since the Marga fight, his tats wasn't finished, he didn't drink his favorite beer/liquor all bull **** reasons etc.
I cant wait for this fight! This is one of the big ones; you only see maybe once a decade. Pac and Cotto, True Warriors who will give us fanatics and casual fans what we want. WAR!!:thumbsup
I don't know, these press releases seem to go this way and then that. :nut It's probably just the hype machine churning out anything just to earn some ink for the fight.
