PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — BEING the underdog in his Nov. 14 title fight against Manny Pacquiao is not a big deal as far as Miguel Cotto is concerned.
For the Puerto Rican and his head trainer Joe Santiago, not installed as the favorite despite him being the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion could even work wonders.
“Miguel is driven by the people saying Pacquiao will beat him,” said Santiago. “It’s extra motivation and he is coming with fire because people are saying he can’t win.”
Three weeks before the highly-talked about much between two of the world’s best fighters today, Pacquiao remains a 2-1 favorite to bust up Cotto.
The 28-year old reigning champion was in a similar boat when he met Carlos Quintana in 2006 for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title.
The fight ended in a technical knockout in favor of Cotto.
“Many people were picking Quintana to win and that really motivated Miguel,” recalled Santiago. “The night of the fight, he was so focused to prove people wrong that it really gave him a boost in the fight.
“We’re seeing that again with the way so many people are picking Pacquiao to win on Nov. 14.”
Cotto is currently focused in training camp at Tampa, Florida, and the way Santiago has seen the 2000 Sydney Olympian worked out, there’s no doubt in his mind Pacquiao will be in for a tough, long night.
“Cotto is at his best, and he is out to show that against Manny. It will be a very tough night for Pacquiao because winning means so much to Miguel. There is so much desire,” said the trainer.
The 12-round bout will be fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds, the first time in years Cotto is going down at his natural weight of 147.
No problem with that, according to Santiago.
“We’re on track to make the weight. We’ve been working hard and all the monitoring shows we are on pace,” Santiago said. “We will be at 145 before the fight.”
Meanwhile, underscoring Pacquiao’s role as the favorite over Cotto, former two world champions boldly predict a victory for the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter.
Four-time heavyweight king Evander Holyfield and light-heavyweight titlist Glenn Johnson are both going for Pacquiao when he attempts a seventh world title in seven different weight classes.
“Migue Cotto gets hit too much,” admitted Holyfield, who recently appeared with heavyweight rival and former undisputed heavyweight king Mike Tyson in the Oprah Winfrey Show.
“Pacquiao holds his hands up, he bounces in, he bounces out. Pacquiao throws fast punches, and Cotto has shown that if he does not have an answer for someone, he dies out.”
Johnson holds exactly the same view of a Pacquiao win.
“I believe Pacquiao will come out the winner. Manny is fast, he learns on defense on the way, and he has good reflexes. He is a precise puncher that is a force to reckon with,” Johnson said.