FT Chronicle

NEW YORK — Seven-time world champion Manny Pacquiao tested clean following his Nov. 14 TKO win over Miguel Cotto, SI.com reported Wednesday.

Pacquiao, who became the first boxer to win seven championships in as many weight classes, underwent urine tests twice — before and after the fight — and both came back negative, said Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It’s the the 10th time the Filipino has turned in clean tests in Nevada, the report said.

Floyd Mayweather Sr., Floyd’s father and trainer, has publicly accused Pacquiao of taking steroids.

He told SI’s Chris Mannix that performance-enhancing substances were taken by  Pacquiao so he can take Cotto’s powerful shots. “I know Floyd is the best,” said Mayweather Sr. “But when [your opponent] uses something illegal, even the best can get hurt.”

Floyd Sr., however, did not show any evidence to support his claim.

Since 2002, Nevada has required fighters to submit urine samples before every fight. Those samples test for 40 types of steroids, diuretics and masking agents. In his 10 Las Vegas fights, Pacquiao has never tested positive, and his conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said the only substances his fighter took leading up to the fight with Cotto were whey protein and liver-support supplements, in addition to his 6,500-calorie diet.

Pacquiao has been bombarded with accusations of doping, having conquered seven weight divisions since entering the sport at 106 pounds when he was 16.

And after Mayweather Sr.’s comments following the November 14 bout, there has been speculation that if a megafight between Floyd Jr. and Pacquiao is agreed upon, Mayweather’s camp may place stipulations in the fight contract that would require both fighters to take separate, mandatory drug tests in addition to the required tests by state athletic commissions.

But at 10-0 with his Nevada drug tests, Pacquiao has provided plenty of proof he cleanly fought his way to seven world titles.

Photo and news via Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines – This is it! Floyd Mayweather Jr. pushed light for a fight between him and newly crowned WBO welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao last night.

“If he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., all he has to do is step up to the plate,” said Mayweather, the undefeated 32-year-old, according to a CNN report.

It came after the statement of Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who said that the whole world now wants a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight after Pacman has annihilated Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last Saturday in Las Vegas.

Mayweather expressed Pacquiao’s approach as one-dimensional but he agreed that the Filipino fighter would be a favorite with the crowd.

“The thing is with Pacquaio I don’t see any versatility as a fighter; he’s a good puncher but just one-dimensional,” he said.

“The world’s going to go ‘wow’ if Floyd Mayweather gets beaten. That’s what everyone is looking to see.

“If I beat Manny Pacquaio do you know what they are going to say? ‘You are supposed to beat him, you are Floyd Mayweather, you are the bigger man’. If I knock him out they’ll say ‘you’re supposed to knock him out he’s been knocked out before’.

“I’m in a no-win situation and when I beat him no one is going to be surprised because he’s been beaten before; whatever I do to Pacquiao has been done before – he’s been beaten on three occasions. And if I knock him out I don’t want the world shouting because he’s been knocked out twice before.”

The Pacquiao-Mayweather match, if it goes ahead, is expected to challenge the mark set by Oscar De La Hoya’s bout with Mayweather for the most profitable fight in history.

Mayweather, tagged as “Money,” said: “If I go out and make $60-75 million in one night; come on – I’m not losing.”

It is “Manny” versus “Money”.

Manny Pacquiao showed everyone why he is the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.

In front of a sold out crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday night, November 14, Pacquiao made  work of The Pride of Puerto Rico, Miguel Cotto, the 145-pound WBO Welterweight World Champion.

Round one: Cotto using jabs to keep Pacquiao at bay. Cotto unleashes body shots. Pacquiao still looking for his range

Round two: Pacquiao connects to the head. Cotto lands a left hook Pacquiao unleashes a combo. Fierce exchange ending rd. 2. Pacquaio more busy looking for angles and openings, connects with his left and right.

Round three: Cotto lands 1-2-3 on Pacquiao. Pacquiao knocks down Cotto with a right

Round four: Pacquiao targets Cotto’s body. Pacquiao unleashes combo to Cotto’s head; Cotto bounces back though Cotto down again

Round five: More movement from Pacquiao now. Pacquiao caps 5th round with combo.

Round six: Pacquiao backs Cotto to the ropes. Cotto cut in the right cheek. Left cheek also puffy.

Round seven:  Pacquiao explodes with power shots to Cotto’s head and body. Manny is chasing Cotto down. Cotto now breathing heavily.

Round eight: Cotto still in the fight, despite two knockdowns he suffered earlier. Pacquiao in control, shows measured aggression. Pacquiao still in control.

Round nine: Manny takes body shots from Cotto. Manny pins Cotto in the corner. Pacquiao backs Cotto to a corner but champ survives. Pacquiao staggers Cotto. Pacquiao gets Cotto in trouble with barrage of shots but tough Puerto Rican survives round.

Round ten: Cotto still up, despite two knockdowns and absorbing numerous powerful head shots. Pacquiao moving forward, chasing Cotto.

Round eleven: Cotto continues to back pedal, waiting to land big punch on rushing Pacquiao. Manny on the attack, pummels Cotto but Cotto escapes, moves well.

Round twelve: Ref Bayless stops the fight on the 12 round as Pacman pummels Cotto.

Before the match, Roach first predicted a unanimous decision by Pacquiao over Cotto but then a knockout in the first round, 9th or 10^th.

Pacquiao becomes the first boxer to capture seven world titles in seven different weight division – flyweight, junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and now, welterweight.

The Cotto victory is Pacquiao’s fifth win in a row in a different division.

The win improves Pacquiao’s record to 50-3-2. Cotto’s record falls to 34-1-1.

The diamond belt is composed of 18-karat gold plates, 861 diamonds, six rubies, 221 emeralds and 180 Swarovzki crystals mounted on Italian Ferrari leather that also includes photos Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto plus the Puerto Rican and Philippine flags.

La Divas Jonalyn Viray, Maricris Garcia, and Aicelle Santos, in Filipiniana attire, sing the Philippine national anthem.

LAS VEGAS— Manny Pacquiao pleads for more workouts though his corner wants to stop. That is the only problem Team Pacquaio faces on the final day of Pacquiao’s training for his bout against Miguel Cotto on Saturday at the MGM Grand.

Pacquiao worked four rounds with the mitts then hitting the double-end and the speedball and skipping rope. He went crunches for cooling down.

But Cotto seems to have weight problems with plans  to move the time of the weigh-in two hours later to give the Puerto Rican more time to shed off excess pounds. Cotto spent his last training day in a high-temperature room, to help him get rid of excess weight according to some news. Team Cotto recently issued a moratorium on replying to questions about weight.

Pacquiao, who is expected to fight at 149 pounds, weighed 146 later in the evening, after he had eaten his dinner, Ariza, Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, revealed.

Pacquiao and Cotto will weigh in Saturday at the Garden Arena of the MGM Grand. The Filipino is expected to make the 145-pound catch weight easily, something that cannot be said—yet—of his Puerto Rican foe.

The fight contract includes a clause that a boxer will be penalized $1 million for every pound he registers above the catch weight.

Roach has said he will pull the plug on the fight if Cotto comes in more than two pounds over 145.

“It’s really not important to me what the boxing world wants to see,” Cotto said in sit-down interview with reporters. “I am not going home without winning this fight.”

Let’s just wait if Manny Pacquiao can grab a seventh title in a seventh division.

News and photo from Inquirer.net

LAS VEGAS — Trainers of the two fighters, Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach and Miguel Cotto coach Joe Santiago, may have exchanged fiery words but that’s not how ‘Firepower’ will end but will start this Saturday at the MGM Grand.

“Miguel, good luck to you and your camp and we’ll see you Saturday night,” Roach said at the podium during the press conference. “We’re in great shape for the fight,” added Roach.

“Good luck Manny, you’re going to need it,” said Santiago.

Santiago was irked when Roach predicted Pacquiao’s knockout win in one round.

Roach answered back saying Santiago as someone “who doesn’t know what it takes to be in the ring.”

However, the both fighters tried to cool down the conference with exchange of words of respect to one another.

“I know Manny’s skill, that’s why I trained hard for this fight,” said Cotto.

“We have a game plan for this fight and it’s going to be a great night for boxing, especially for Latinos and Puerto Ricans.”

Pacquiao, as usual, was a model of humility during the conference.

“I respect Miguel Cotto and his team,” Pacquiao said. “They’re nice guys and they’re friendly. On Saturday, may the best man win.”

News via Inquirer.net

LAS VEGAS — Record hit it is! Just moments after the booths started selling tickets, they all went vanished! And huge numbers are expected from pay-per-view revenues.

“We are watching a phenomenon unfold before our eyes,” Top Rank chief Bob Arum said of Pacquiao. Arum talks about Pacquiao’s devastating combination of speed and power.

“Manny seems to be punching harder now,” Arum said. “People have been asking if he’ll lose his speed as he goes heavier, but Manny seems to be faster now.”

Arum also considered trainer Freddie Roach’s part on the ring, for he is the one who has shaped Pacquiao, who was once a one-time flyweight king who is now aiming to become the first boxer to win world titles in seven different weight categories.

Arum also refused to make predictions since he promotes both fighter but told audiences to watch out for the moment the bell rings and both fighter unleash their powers.

Pacquiao faces Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14, where he will be gunning for the Puerto Rican’s WBO welterweight crown, which actually what makes the highlight match of the card billed as “Firepower” one of the greatest the sport has ever seen, at a catch weight of 145 pounds.

News via Inquirer.net

HOLLYWOOD—Manny Pacquiao is 100% worry-free after several training days but still not convinced about Cotto’s weight. “I think he’s dieting,” said Pacquiao.

Quite a lot of foreign journalists who saw Cotto during his press conference Tuesday think he’s about 150 to 152 lb and still loosing pounds with about a week to go before their Nov. 14 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Because of my training, I need to eat,” Pacquiao, enjoying the benefits of fighting in a heavier weight, told reporters after having five more sparring rounds at the Wild Card gym.

Pacquiao thinks positive about weight issues, emphasizing how tough it was to meet the super featherweight limit of 130 lb, which will help his bid to become the first fighter to win seven world championships in as many weight divisions

“It has a big effect on a fighter,” said Pacquiao. “When a fighter is engaged in a tight battle, it becomes a disadvantage if he had to lose weight before the fight.”

The Puerto Rican Cotto, who will stake his WBO welterweight crown against Pacquiao posted on Twitter in Spanish: “I feel good. I trained hard but I’m very happy.”

Pacquiao normally weighs at 149 pounds, but his weight easily goes down to 146 after training. Alex Ariza, Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, supposes that Cotto is under pressure to make the weight.

But Cotto’s own conditioning coach, Phil Landman, said they will easily meet the catch weight of 145. “We’ll be fine during the weigh-in,” Landman told reporters Tuesday.

Photo and News via Inquirer.net

HOLLYWOOD – Marquez fight’s Pacquaio is way too different to Cotto fight’s Pacquaio, that’s an assurance from Buboy Fernandez, the Filipino boxer’s conditioning coach.

“We all know they studied our fight against Marquez,” said Buboy Fernandez, who helps Freddie Roach, at the Wild Card Gym here Friday.

They noticed that in the fight, Pacquiao has his tendency to drop his left hand when he throws the jab, and leaves himself open. “They probably saw Manny’s weakness, which they could counter,” said Fernandez.

That’s the same mistake Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto wants to exploit, making his left hooks right through every opening, but, Pacquiao has already found ways to correct it. “That’s why we worked hard on that aspect. We studied what they studied against us. “We found the ways to counter this mistake now,” said Fernandez. “We should be wary of the left hook,” he added.

Fernandez said Pacquiao is now conditioned to fight anytime, considering all the hard training with around 150 sparring rounds over the last seven weeks.

“We’ve achieved the number of sparring rounds we wanted. We’re close to 150 now (144 in total) and that’s as many as we’ve had in the previous fights,” said Fernandez.

“I feel like I’m in perfect condition now — a hundred percent. I can already feel the power in my hands. It’s there. I’m ready,” said Pacquiao.

News via Philstar

LOS ANGELES —  “It’s not about comparing size, not about comparing power,” pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao said about Cotto’s size. “Knowledge is power. You don’t have knowledge, you don’t have power.”

Most of the victories of Pacquiao came by bringing down a much larger opponent, such as Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton

He claimed the International Boxing Organization belt to match a ring record with a title in a sixth career weight class.

Pacquiao made his place on the list of boxing’s all-time greats, with Hatton’s junior welterweight belt that has been added in the collection of titles he have: lightweight, super featherweight, junior featherweight, featherweight and flyweight.

The Filipino boxing icon looks forward in a welterweight belt world title clash with Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto in their Nov. 14 fight at 145 pounds.

“If I win it’s boxing history—seven titles in seven different weight divisions,” Pacquiao said. “I would be so proud—being a Filipino who captured titles in seven weight divisions.”

“This kid is something that now transcends boxing,” said promoter Bob Arum.

Photo and news via Inquirer.Net

HOLLYWOOD — It was scorching heat inside the Pound4Pound gym in South La Cienega in Los Angeles yet Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto is frozen like the ice, silencing himself after a journalist asked about his weight.

The WBO welterweight champion did not respond; same are Phil Landman and Joe Santiago, his conditioning coach and trainer, respectively.

But people observing in the gym estimated the shirtless Cotto’s weight to be around 150 pounds.

“It doesn’t matter,” Santiago said via an interpreter as Cotto prepared to launch into a 90-minute workout to show boxing writers how far

The fuzz was all about the weight after the Mayweather-Marquez bout where Mayweather weigh more the agreed weight, thus his size helped him to win over his foe.

Freddie Roach, Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s trainer said at the Wild Card Gym, “If he’s too heavy, we won’t fight.”

He had earlier said if Cotto goes more than two pounds over the 145-lb catch weight, Team Pacquiao will call off the fight.

“He’s going to have to at least make an effort to lose weight,” said Roach.

As fiery as the days go by, not amused Roach, seeing Cotto’s pictures, said “He has many tattoos. He likes tattoos and we’re going to put more tattoos with punches on his face.”

Both camps have gone in preparation for their bout on November 14, when Cotto will stake his WBO welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Photo and news from Inquirer.net