PACQUIAO versus COTTO: “The way Manny and Miguel are talking about it, it could be like the three-round war between Hagler and Hearns,” says veteran promoter Bob Arum

Could Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto recreate 8 minutes of ring mayhem as Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns did 24 years ago ?

Promoter Bob Arum thinks it is possible.

Hagler v Hearns, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in April 1985, is regarded by many as the most exciting eight minutes in fight history, with Hagler the winner by a technical knockout in the third round. It was Fight of the Year after both men went at it from the opening bell like men possessed.

Miguel Cotto against Manny Pacquiao brings together two fighters who are sporting icons in Puerto Rico and the Philippines respectively, and who are regarded as boxing’s No 3 and No 1 pound-for-pound, respectively, at present.

Cotto, 29, a two-weight world champion, has fought at welterweight for three years, and has been beaten only once in 35 contests, while Pacquiao, 30, attempts to win a seventh world title in a seventh weight division, which has seen him come up over eight years from flyweight to welterweight. He has been beaten twice in his 55-fight career, with two draws.

Although this contest is taking place at 145lbs, Cotto’s World Boxing Organisation welterweight (147lb) crown is on the table.

When Hagler and Hearns met in 1985, for the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles, Hagler was 30, and had lost only twice, much earlier in his career, while Hearns was 26 and had been beaten just once, stopped in the 14th round by Sugar Ray Leonard.

Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, visited both training camps – in Baguio City in the Philippines and Tampa, Florida.

“The way Manny and Miguel are talking about it, it could be like the three-round war between Hagler and Hearns,” the veteran promoter Arum told Telegraph Sport. “The conventional wisdom is that Cotto is best when he’s aggressive, but I don’t know if he feels he can be aggressive with this guy from the get-go. But if Cotto is aggressive, though, it could be a Hagler v Hearns all over again.”

This article is from blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Pacquiao versus Cotto: Kenny Bayless, Nov. 14 Referee

MANILA, Philippines—The Nevada State Athletic Commission appointed Kenny Bayless the referee for the Nov. 14 bout between Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao and reigning WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The match could be the biggest money-earning venture of Pacquiao, with the reigning lightweight king expected to earn more than $12 million as he guns for Cotto’s belt in a bid to become the first boxer to win titles—including linear ones—in seven different weight classes.

With HBO selling pay-per-views at $54.95 and Top Rank chief Bob Arum earlier predicting that the bout, dubbed “Firepower,” will exceed 850,000 buys brought in by Pacquiao’s destruction of Briton Ricky Hatton earlier this year, Pacquiao is looking at the biggest paycheck in his career.

Bayless’ appointment, meanwhile, ends apprehensions within Team Pacquiao that Joe Cortez had the inside track on the super fight. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach had earlier said he was hoping Cortez wouldn’t land the job in the bout dubbed “Firepower” because he is Puerto Rican like Cotto.

Bayless had worked three previous Pacquiao fights—all of them victories. The Nevada native was the third man in the ring when Pacquiao knocked out Erik Morales in 10 rounds in 2006. He also officiated Pacquiao’s close win over Juan Manuel Marquez in their second bout in 2007 and was the referee when the Filipino sensation knocked Hatton out cold last May.

The NSAC also appointed Dave Moretti, Adelaide Byrd and Duane Ford as judges.

Meanwhile, in Baguio City, Roach has increased the boxer’s sparring schedule to nine rounds.

Among those who joined Pacquiao here on Saturday for his fans’ day was 8-year-old Arjean Cadias, who is suffering from cancer.

Cadias had a brief chat with Pacquiao, who later signed the boy’s slum book.

Arum had earlier told Yahoo! Sports that he expected the Pacman to earn more from PPV buys than he did against Hatton because “I think Cotto, as a great Puerto Rican fighter, brings a larger fan base to the US.”

Pacquiao is also getting a bigger split of the pie against Cotto, with reports pegging the percentage as high as 65-35. Pacquiao and Hatton went 50-50 during their bout.

The Pacquiao-Cotto PPV buys are going to be crucial bargaining chips when the Filipino’s camp negotiates for a fight against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

Schaefer told Boxingscene.com that “if Pacquiao-Cotto sells the same amount of homes or more (as Mayweather-Marquez) then we’ll have things to discuss.”

Mayweather defeated Juan Manuel Marquez last September and was credited as the main draw that resulted in 1 million PPV buys that generated $52 million in PPV revenues. With a report from Frank Cimatu, Inquirer Northern Luzon

This article is from sports.inquirer.net

Pacquiao VS Mayweather: Is it IMPOSSIBLE?

MANILA, Philippines - Top Rank’s chief Bob Arum, American promoter of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, expressed doubt on the possibility of his prized ward facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a bout pitting two of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

The top boxing executive said he’s having doubts that Pacquiao will take on Mayweather next if he gets past Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 (Nov. 15 in Manila), citing problems that may possibly arise during negotiations.

“I don’t think (Pacquiao-Mayweather) will happen within the next year because of all of Mayweather’s posturing, the trash talk. That impedes any realistic negotiations. It would just be too difficult,” Arum told Michael Rosenthal of The Ring.

Even Pacquiao’s chief trainer Freddie Roach is on the same page as Arum.

“It seems like there’s a lot of things working against this fight ever happening,” Roach earlier told The Los Angeles Times. “It makes sense. It’d be a great fight, but it seems there’s a lot of distractions around it. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

It was earlier reported that the issue of the purse split may derail a Pacquiao-Mayweather duel, as neither fighter is willing to settle for an equal sharing of the pot.

Mayweather came out of retirement to beat Juan Manuel Marquez – Pacquiao’s arch-nemesis – cruising to a lopsided victory last Sept. 19.

Asked if Pacquiao is doomed to suffer the same beating as Marquez if the Filipino goes up against Mayweather, Arum said the Filipino fighter has an entirely different style compared to Marquez’s.

“Styles make fights,” Arum said, citing an age-old boxing adage.

“Mayweather is a defensive specialist and Marquez is a counter puncher. Mayweather forced Marquez to be aggressive, which isn’t his game. Marquez needs his opponent to be aggressive. When Manny fought Marquez – and it’s not the same Manny now – Manny was the aggressor. Marquez was able to win a lot of rounds because he’s a good counter puncher,” he added.

Arum even provided additional examples to stress his point.

“Just because A beats B and B beats C, it doesn’t mean A will necessarily beat C. Look at the heavyweights from years ago. George Foreman could fight Joe Frazier and Ken Norton a hundred times each and the result would be the same, a Foreman knockout. Muhammad Ali could fight Frazier 100 times and every one would be a war. The same with Norton; he just couldn’t figure out his style. Then you put Ali in with Foreman and he’s able to knock him out. Manny is a different type of fighter than Marquez,” he said. – Contributor Dino Maragay - (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Pacquiao - Cotto Fight : Title Match at 145

The Pacquiao - Cotto fight scheduled on November 14, 2009 live at Las Vegas Nevada will more likely be a Title Match at 145lbs. This was presented in the article written by Mark Vester in boxingscene.com.

A lot has been written on the title mishap that hangs like a bad cloud above the November 14 bout between Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. The fight takes place at an agreed catch-weight 145-pounds and because of this weight, Cotto has not been willing to stake his welterweight crown. He says Pacquaio will have to fight him at the full welterweight limit of 147 to have the title at stake. The WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel is pushing to have the WBO title on the line. Who could blame him? There is a $150,000 sanctioning fee at stake on both sides. Top Rank's Bob Arum promotes both fighters and is willing to pay both of their sanctioning fees.

The title picture will come down to several scenarios but all of them will have the WBO title at stake. The title picture comes down to Section 15, page 17 of the WBO's Rules and Regulations.

The sections reads the following:

(b) A WBO champions shall not participate in a non-championship fight that is not a WBO Championship without the prior authorization of the WBO World Championship Committee. This authorization shall be subject to such conditions as the WBO World Championship Committee determines. In addition, this authorization will be granted only on the condition that the WBO Champion pay a fee to the WBO that is the equivalent of the amount that he WBO Champion would have paid to the WBO if the nonchampionship fight were conducted as a WBO Championship fight.

Pursuant to the official rules, the WBO is in the right to sanction the bout as a welterweight title fight. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach already told BoxingScene.com that his fighter is going to pay the required sanctioning fee - even if Cotto refuses to pay his share. That move would hand Manny the title with a win or cause the title to become vacant if Cotto prevails.

The WBO has to give Cotto authorization to take the Pacquiao fight, pursuant to their rules and the WBO can set the conditions of the fight - and that includes making it a title fight. Even if Cotto refuses to put the title on the line, the WBO rules are clear, he would be forced to pay a sanctioning fee that is equal to the amount of a normal title fight.

Even if Cotto vacates the title, the WBO can place the vacant title at stake in the fight. There has already been word that Pacquiao would be lifted to the status of number 1 contender and that would give him a chance to win the title - with or without Cotto's compliance.

Source : Pacquiao-Cotto Title Bout Rests on WBO's Section 15

Pacquiao-Cotto Fight Predictions

Here's one prediction of Pacquiao-Cotto fight written by Recah Trinidad of Philippine Daily Inquirer that will happen in November 2009.

NO QUESTION ABOUT THE RESULT, Manny Pacquiao is sure to beat Miguel Cotto.

That was not Uncle Bob Arum pontificating on the forthcoming Pacquiao-Cotto fight at the MGM Grand.

That was Kobe Bryant making his prediction right here in Manila.

Remember, it was Arum who bravely branded the then a-building big bout a dead-even fight.

Now, it’s hard to determine if Arum had altered his view after Pacquiao agreed to a 145-lb catch weight in favor of Cotto.

Normally, Kobe’s slam-jam forecast should be rated as a bold prediction, which comes when you pick one fighter to stop a bigger foe.

But Bryant, a great admirer of his Pinoy fans, saw no hope whatsoever for a bigger Cotto upsetting the Pacman come Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.

A certified Pacquiao fan, Bryant says there’s no switching of allegiance now that he has also won over the Pacman, previously identified as a Boston Celtics follower, over to the Lakers side.

Money-wise, there’s no doubting the big winner.

Pacquiao will get a very wholesome slice of the cake.

Unconfirmed reports said the Pacman could pocket as much as 65 percent of the fight profit to Cotto’s 35.

There’s also the prospect of Pacquiao winning a seventh world title in seven separate weight divisions.

That would not only enhance Pacman’s pound-for-pound kingship.

That sublime possibility, a first double-seven by a world boxing great, should readily cement the Pacquiao legend.

But hold it, please.

What’s harder to determine now is whether or not Cotto can be of any help in pushing Pacquiao to the ultimate in his career.

Don’t get this wrong please.

By that, Cotto is not being lulled into performing like any of Pacquiao’s last three victims.

Remember the half-bouts, the punching picnics Pacquiao had against David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton?

What Pacquiao needs this time is a supreme challenge, which was nowhere near the ring post in his last three bouts.

Cotto should in fact be goaded to work extra hard and come at his very best.

The truth is that it would be another sham if Cotto, for example, shows up as shallow as he did in that contested split decision win over a plodder from Ghana.

Anyway, the good news is that Cotto has remained unfazed by Pacquiao’s startling ring achievements.

He seems singularly convinced he can beat Pacquiao.

But whether he would rely wholly on his fabled body punches, or try to outmuscle Pacquiao toe-to-toe, is hard to say.

The call of the hour is for Cotto to provide a truly classic challenge.

That way, he could also help bring out the all-time best from the Pacman.

Pacquiao, in return, should also be able to provide a gallant stand, an unforgettable classic performance in the niche of the Muhammad Ali conquest of Joe Frazier during the 1975 Thrilla in Manila.

Yes, there’s now the chance of Pacquiao fighting a fight that could be the epitome of his gift, craft and power.

Source