ShareThisBAGUIO CITY — Miguel Cotto, the Puerto Rican star who went toe-to-toe with Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, sees a tough match taking place between the world and Filipino boxing icon and the Mexican fighter on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Pacquiao and Margarito pose at a news conference to announce their fight for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight championship in Beverly Hills
This developed as Pacquiao continued his training Monday in Baguio City despite typhoon Juan which brought rain while he and sparringmate and world champion, Amir Khan, ran at the track and field in the city.
Pacquiao had one of the toughest training yet to check on his having slowed due to gaining more weight.
After the training, Pacquiao rehearsed his repertoire of songs with Madonna Decena, Lito Camo and his MP Band.
Like his previous fights, Pacquiao has a concert planned in the US after the fight with Antonio Margarito.
Pacquiao sang love songs to Jinkee and got into a beat that even got Arum dancing.
Team Pacquiao will travel down to Manila this week and fly out to the US to continue training for the November 14 battle.
“I have no favorite to win (the fight),” Cotto was quoted as saying from London, where he is promoting mixed martial arts.
Cotto was stopped by Margarito in the 11th round in July 2008 and suffered the same fate when he faced Pacquiao in Nov. 2009.
“It’s going to be a tough fight for both men,” said Cotto, the reigning WBA super-welterweight king,.
Cotto, according to a Nick Giongco report, was amenable to a rematch with either Pacquiao or Margarito in 2011, stressing that he was not in top physical shape both times he met the Filipino and world pound-for-pound king and the Mexican mauler.
Pacquiao, seven-division champion of the world, Top Rank chief Bob Arum, trainer Freddie Roach, strength coach Alex Ariza and sparmates Glen Tapia and Michael Medina were to meet the media at the Cooyeesan Hotel in Baguio City, site of Pacquiao’s training camp, to brief them on new developments on the training.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN reported that Pacquiao’s performance against Margarito could make or unmake a possible megafight between the Filipino icon and the American champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Michael Marley, boxing analyst for examiner.com, wrote that Pacquiao’s performance in the bout against Margarito will likely determine if a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight will finally push through.
“Come to think of it, Pacman looking ‘satisfactory’ might lure Mayweather into a fight next May,” Marley said.
Marley added that if Pacquiao looks “sensational” in his next fight, he might completely drive Mayweather off the radar.
“Being ‘sensational’ might be the final straw in driving reluctant Mayweather deeper into his bunker,” he said.
Early this year, the anticipated fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather was called off after the latter’s camp challenged the People’s Champ to undergo random drug tests.
The American five-division world champion was also caught on video bashing Pacquiao. Later, Mayweather faced various charges filed by his live-in partner over a spat in Las Vegas. The boxer and the girl has two children.
“Just win, Manny, just win. Then you can save the ‘sensational’ for Floyd,” Marley said.