Pacquiao calm at Vegas arrival, Cotto looks drained
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 12 Nov 2009
The fight won’t come until Saturday (Sunday in Manila) but if the reception in the arrival of protagonists Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas will be the gauge, the Filipino world junior-welterweight champion had won the round.
One thousand or so fans and media men alike met and greeted the World Boxing Organization welterweight belt-holder and Pacquiao when the two set foot at the MGM Grand and, according to Top Rank public ralations man, “abaout 70 percent of the fans were there to cheer for Pacquiao.
While boxing is not a popularity contest as the real decisison will be made atop the ring, the Las Vegas reception accorded to the duo means the Manny-Mania will run wild comes fight time.
The general consensus being that Cotto was looking somewhat drained and gaunt after what looks to have been a tough weight cut.
While Pacquiao looked to be calm and relaxed, joking around with interviewers and meeting people, Cotto, in contrast, seemed drained and gaunt, perhaps, due to his efforts to make the catch-weight 145-pound limit.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, doesn't have to worry about making weight nearly as much as the much larger Cotto.
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, speaking before the press, said, “When he(Pacquiao) doesn’t have to miss a meal and can eat before weigh-in, which he’ll do twice, he’s happy.”
“He’ll weigh 149 to 150 pounds at most on fight night. I don’t like him gaining too much weight before the fight,” he added.
“With the right opponent we could move up again,” Roach said. “But for top-level guys, I think this is it.”
Pacquiao can make the weight, that’s for sure, and Cotto’s fans will be hoping their boys can make the limit, too.
This reminded everyone of Pacquiao's win over Oscar De La Hoya, who, during that fight in December last year, looked dehydrated and weakened alalowing the Filipino an easy ninth round knockout win.
Would Cotto suffer the same fate? Incidentally, he had made similar weight limits in the past without too much trouble. The Clottey fight was at a 146lb limit, and although Cotto didn't fight as well as many thought he should have, he still did enough to get the win despite getting cut early on.
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