Baguio ideal venue for champ's training

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – This city braces for Monday’s arrival of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, who chose to set up his camp here in his buildup for his keenly awaited showdown with Puerto Rican champion Miguel Cotto in November.

“Baguio is a wise choice for his training, contrary to Freddie Roach and Bob Arum’s wishes, because it provides good cardio-vascular development as well as for stamina and strength,” said Boy Velasco, one of the coaches of the national boxing team.

Pacquiao said that eight weeks would be enough to put himself in top shape for the Cotto bout on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas where the power-punching Filipino is aiming to add the WBO welterweight champion to his growing list of victims.

But Roach and Arum fear of distraction with fans expected to come in droves during gym training at the Teachers Camp and during roadwork.

“Team Pacquiao should really take into considerations distractions, especially that the city is a major tourist destination,” said former Gintong Alay national camp director Narciso Padilla.

However, Velasco said security has been arranged this early that would ensure the world pound-for-pound king’s unhampered training.

He added that the ABAP (Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines) gym is ready.

“The facility has undergone face lifting even before Pacquiao decided to train here,” said Velasco.

Still, the greatest asset of this city is its high altitude, said Padilla.

“We hope, however, that local residents will cooperate in supporting Pacquiao’s two-month training program here by respecting the training regimen especially during his outdoor road-runs and work-outs,” Padilla said. – Artemio Dumlao

Pinoy icon's toughest test: Early fight odds on Pacman

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star)

SAN DIEGO – Bob Arum knows too well that Nov. 14 is not going to be a picnic for Manny Pacquiao.

In fact, the big boss from Top Rank expects a real tough fight for the pride of the Philippines who’s scheduled to challenge Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico for the WBO welterweight crown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

With a quick glance at the fight odds, Pacquiao at +250 (you need to bet $250 to win a hundred) and Cotto at -210, it’s not hard to say that the Filipino icon is favored to win a record seventh world title in different weight classes.

But Arum said it won’t be a walk in the park.

“One thing is for sure. If Manny wins it’s not going to be easy. It will be tough,” said Arum yesterday from the frontseat of the Suburban that was taking him to a three-hour ride from Los Angeles to the Petco ballpark in San Diego.

Joining the legendary promoter in the trip to the home of the Padres, where Pacquiao was to throw the ceremonial pitch in the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, were Top Rank’s Lee Samuels and Bill Caplan.

“Believe me, this will be the toughest fight of his life,” Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, told the media during the “Firepower” press tour that took Pacquiao and Cotto to five key cities in the US the last six days.

The tour ended the other day at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Cotto has flown back to Puerto Rico, and should be ready to begin the hard grind in his camp in Tampa, Florida.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, stayed behind, and had to travel to San Diego at noon yesterday to be at the Petco Park. It was the third baseball stadium which he has visited the past week after the Yankee Stadium and the AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Arum said if Pacquiao gets past Cotto, and there’s no easy way he’s gonna do that, the reigning pound-for-pound champion will be back on the ring on March 15 against the lucky one who is picked as his next opponent.

“He doesn’t want to fight in February so we’re looking at March 15,” said Arum.

Pacquiao will seek a congressional seat in his hometown in Saranggani province in southern Philippines during the May 2010 elections, and a fight in March will be right inside the calendar.

“He can fight on March 15, and that gives him enough time to go out and campaign,” said Arum.

Among those being tipped as Pacquiao’s next opponent are Floyd Mayweather Jr., the undefeated ex-pound-for-pound champion who takes on Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Shane Mosley or Edwin Valero.

Pacquiao said depending on the results of their fights, he and Mayweather could end up facing each other next year. But whether it will be the one prior to the elections remain uncertain.

Once the fight pushes through, Pacquiao could earn from $25 million to $30 million or roughly P1.5 billion, and Mayweather a little less.

“Kapag nanalo kami pareho ni Mayweather, kami na yan (If I and Mayweather prevail, then it should be us),” said Pacquiao. “Nag-uusap na. Basta. Nag-uusap na (Talks are on).”

Notes; This back-breaking press tour of five key cities in seven days is nothing new to Bob Arum. The Harvard lawyer who has gone promoting some of the great, great fights in history over the last 40 years, has had some tours that would make this one look like a picnic. He said the toughest he’s been to was for the Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns fight in ’80s. “It took us 23 cities in just 14 days,” he told Pinoy scribes who travelled with him to San Diego from LA. “And it was fun even if the boxers got into each other’s nerves at one point and I had to break up a fist-fight in St. Louis. That’s why when the opening bell sounded there was no more feeling out between the two boxers. It was a street fight,” said Arum. The Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto press tour got off in New York last Thursday, and took both fighters to Puerto Rico, San Francisco and LA. There were days when they stayed longer up in the air (plane ride) than they were on the ground. But the result has proven to be a tremendous success, and Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, said there’s never been like it in Pacquiao’s recent fights. Pacquiao was to take a late-night flight to Manila Tuesday and should be home on Thursday. Training, under Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez and Alex Ariza, begins on the 21st in Baguio City.

No rift with Roach: Pacman prefers Baguio training for Cotto tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao yesterday cleared the air as to where and when he’d like to start training for his upcoming fight with Puerto Rican champion Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao also said there’s no rift between him and his chief trainer, Freddie Roach, and they’d finalize the training schedule during the fight’s press tour next week.

Then the reigning pound-for-pound champion said Baguio remains as his choice as training headquarters. In fact, he said his Filipino trainer, Buboy Fernandez, is now up in Baguio.

“He’s up there to check the facilities,” said Pacquiao of the country’s summer capital, chilly most of the year, around 150 miles north of Manila and 1,500 meters above sea level.

Roach said Baguio is not an ideal place to train because of the distractions (too many fans and tourists), and has offered a secluded resort in Toluca, Mexico, instead.

Bob Arum of Top Rank wants Vancouver, but in the end it’s Pacquiao who makes the call, and as it is, it’s Baguio for the main bulk of his training for the Nov. 14 title fight with Cotto.

Pacquiao said he will discuss things with Roach when they hook up next week for the press tour in New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

“Then maybe from there he can come along with me, and we’d start training in Baguio. It won’t be short. Kailangan niya pumunta dito (He needs to come here),” said Pacquiao.

He said eight weeks should be enough to get him in top shape for the fight, and said the last three weeks he might move to the Wild Card Gym in LA for the final push.

“I understand our countrymen or my fans feeling worried about my training. I want to assure them that I’m not taking it for granted. I know myself. I know that eight weeks should do it,” he added.

Pacquiao faced the press yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas and announced his latest partnership with Solar Sports, led by Wilson Tieng and Peter Chanliong, regarding a new promotional outfit.

Together, they’re setting up an outfit that would help promote more Filipino fighters for fights overseas.

“Basically we’ll engage in the business of production, promotion and distribution of boxing shows to the world market, not only here in the Philippines. We have a lot of boxers who can fight on an international scale,” said Chanliong.

The Solar Sports chief operating officer said the outfit, which will be named soon, will not have any direct clash with the Manny Pacquiao Promotions which “has its own business.”

Chanliong said that in the new outfit, Pacquiao will be the “chairman and the boss” and that we’ll help “Manny make more money” as if Pacquiao is not yet close to being a Filipino billionaire.

“More money?” Pacquiao cut in.

He also said he’s now at 150 lb which is just five pounds off the catchweight agreed upon by both boxers.

“No problem,” he added, just enough to assure everyone that there’s really none.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao got another promotion in the army reserve force, this time being installed as sergeant major of his unit.

From being a master sergeant, Pacquiao was promoted to the rank of senior master sergeant, the second highest rank for enlisted personnel.

“Master Sgt. Manny Pacquiao was given the rank of Sergeant Major for the 15th Ready Reserve Division of the Philippine Army,” said Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, army spokesman.

Pacquiao was also awarded the Outstanding Achievement Medal for the honor he has given the country in his past fights and serving as inspirations for many of the Filipinos, Burgos said.

In his speech, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who also attended the event, said that the boxing champ, instead of joining other civic organizations decided to “volunteer for Team AFP and don the military uniform where he could be of service to the country.”

He said that his fights are no longer a quest for personal achievement, but for the honor of the country that is truly proud of his feats in sports.

“Even groups who are fighting against each other stop just to watch Manny fight,” he said. with report from James Mananghaya.

Roach: Cotto will go full route vs Pacman

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach wasn’t joking when he said lately that Miguel Cotto would be Manny Pacquiao’s “toughest fight.”

Yesterday, the three-time Trainer of the Year, who’s still mourning the very recent death of his younger brother, Joey, told doghouseboxing.com that Cotto has all the qualities to make a very dangerous fight for Pacquiao.

Roach predicted knockouts in Pacquiao’s recent fights, and turned out to be a good fortune-teller as the Filipino pound-for-pound champion decked David Diaz, Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton one after the other.

But in a lengthy interview with David Tyler, the American trainer can’t say the same with Cotto.

“You know that I’ve been making a lot of predictions lately, and I will give you one for sure.....this fight will go the distance!” Roach said during the interview.

“Cotto certainly has his hands full but he has some advantages against us. By fight time he will be 20 pounds heavier than us. He will be the bigger, stronger fighter who is a very resilient guy,” Roach added.

Roach said Cotto is a natural welterweight (147 lb) and the fight being at a catchweight of 145 lb may not spell a big difference.

“He is a true 147 pound fighter, he is very strong, he is a tough guy,” Roach told doghouseboxing.com.

Roach said he’s disappointed that Pacquiao, just a little over two months before the Nov. 14 fight, has yet to decide where or when training would start.

Cotto has been at the gym for almost three weeks now while Pacquiao is busy shooting movies and commercials. But Team Pacquiao said they’d all be done and over with by Sept. 5.

Pacquiao will fly to the US next week for a whirlwind press tour that would take him and Cotto to New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco and Los Angeles in six days.

Then Pacquiao plans to return immediately to the Philippines and kick off his training in Baguio City, a tourist destination that does not sit well with Roach as training site.

“I’m not pleased with him training in the Philippines, there are too many distractions, but that’s what he wants to my understanding, and I believe he is taking this fight too lightly. Mark my words this will be the toughest fight of his life,” said Roach.

Cotto a tough nut to crack, says Roach

By NICK GIONGCO
August 28, 2009, 7:36pm

Freddie Roach doesn’t want Manny Pacquiao to have the illusion that Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto is just going to roll over and die on November 14.

While most ringsiders see Cotto as being slow-footed and easy-to-hit, Roach sees something that makes him truly a livewire opponent.

Roach said people may have forgotten that Cotto holds a huge win over one of boxing’s toughest and trickiest fighters in Shane Mosley, who, like Pacquiao is quick on his feet and punches in bunches.

“Cotto beat Mosley,” said Roach, sounding a bit puzzled over claims being peddled that Pacquiao would have an easy time disposing of Cotto when they square off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Cotto bested Mosley when they fought in November 2007.

“This is going to be Manny’s toughest fight,” said Roach, who wants to set up training camp in Toluca, Mexico, to ensure that Pacquiao stays focused in the runup to Cotto.

The fight will be at 145 lbs and Cotto’s coveted World Boxing Organization welterweight crown will be on the line.

Despite an apparent slide in Cotto’s performance the past year, Roach remains a believer that Cotto still has a lot of championship juice left in his tank.

Cotto has started training in Puerto Rico under the strict supervision of head trainer Joe Santiago and strength coach Phil Landman.

Pacquiao hasn’t started his as the Filipino is still busy fulfilling all his showbiz commitments and is scheduled to report to the gym in mid-September which will officially kick off his eight-week training camp.

Pacquiao lethal left holds key vs Cotto

MANILA, Philippines - The punch very similar to the one that brought Ricky Hatton down for good may yet again be the key when Manny Pacquiao fights the younger, bigger but slower Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14.

This was the observation made by Pacquiao’s former business manager, Rod Nazario, who had the pound-for-pound champion as special guest yesterday at his Wild Card Gym in Parañaque.

Pacquiao, despite his very hectic schedule, visited the gym, where he also trained for some of his recent fights, for the ninth anniversary celebration of the television boxing program In This Corner.

“I’ve watched Cotto’s recent fights, and remember this, Manny,” Nazario said as the boxer he used to handle listened. “Cotto has the tendency to drop his right hand as he launches an attack.”

Nazario told Pacquiao that “a short and crisp left” could be the key.

“Like in the Hatton fight, you didn’t have to go after him. All you needed was wait before you could throw that short left,” said Nazario who, despite his medical condition, still came to see the Hatton fight in Las Vegas last May.

Nazario pulled off a big surprise when he gifted Pacquiao with a rare 1856 chess set, made in Russia, which he bought in an antique store in Orlando for $1,050. Pacquiao, a chess buff, said he’d have a special chess board of narra wood with ivory trimmings made.

“Hindi ka na mananalo sa akin (This time you can’t beat me),” Pacquiao told Nazario who, this early, had announced that next year’s In This Corner party will be held at The Manila Hotel.

Nazario is part of the original Team Pacquiao, along with Moy Lainez, Lito Mondejar and Gerry Garcia. Together, they also helped put up the Blow By Blow program that lasted six years until 2000, and then In This Corner.

Pacquiao said Cotto will stake his WBO welterweight crown when they clash at the catchweight of 145 lb.

Pacquiao arrived past noon and went straight to Nazario who was holed up in his office. He came on board his grey Porsche Cayenne and left more than an hour later on his black Hummer for Quiapo to resume shooting his new movie.

Pacquiao said he’s eager to start training for the Cotto fight set at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas but said he has to honor all his prior commitments, mostly showbiz related.

Pacquiao will be in the US for the launch of the press tour that will take him and Cotto to New York’s Yankee Stadium on Sept. 10, Cotto’s hometown in Caguas, Puerto Rico on Sept. 12, and the AT&T Park in San Francisco the following day.

Pacquiao, who will grace the Giants-Dodgers game in San Francisco, said he’d fly back to Manila after the press tour, and should immediately start his training, most likely in Baguio City.

Then after a week or two, Pacquiao will move somewhere outside of the US to resume his training, probably in Mexico or Canada, and will be in Los Angeles or Las Vegas for the final push.

Pacquiao said he stayed up so late Thursday night as he joined the officers of the USS George Washington, the world’s largest warship, which is docked off Manila Bay, just behind the SM Mall of Asia.

Pacquiao toured the 18-storey ship that carries more than 60 fighter planes and a crew of 5,000 at around 6 p.m. Then he had dinner with AFP and US military officials at Mandarin Hotel.

Roach battleplan: Keep Pacquiao out of Cotto's reach

MANILA, Philippines - How to keep Manny Pacquiao away from Miguel Cotto’s heavy hands is the main concern of the Filipino boxer’s trainer, Freddie Roach.

It’s not that Pacquiao doesn’t have the chin, but the three-time Trainer of the Year, is just making sure that the unexpected doesn’t happen when the two fighters collide on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.

“Manny has a really good chin because he has a big heart. Of course Cotto’s power is a major concern for me but I really think that we will have no problems. I’m training Manny not to get hit,” he said.

In a recent interview with doghouseboxing.com, Roach said it was Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound champion, who decided to take on Cotto, the reigning WBO welterweight champion, and not Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao must have seen something from ringside when Cotto faced Josh Clottey a few months ago.

“Manny has always wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Mayweather fight got delayed because of injury and Manny needed a fight around year’s end. After watching the fight Manny told (Bob) Arum that he could beat Cotto,” said Roach.

And now that the fight contract has been sealed, signed and delivered, Roach said the battleplan is in the making.

“Of course. I have already watched several hours of Cotto’s fights. I have been concentrating on how well he did against Shane Mosley. How he neutralized Shane’s speed. Yes, we will have a great game plan for Cotto,” said Roach.

Training for Pacquiao should begin by the second week of September, and based on early plans, the first week will take him to Baguio City, a great summer destination 250 kms north of Manila, and 1,500 meters above sea level.

Then the next four or five weeks will take Pacquiao to Mexico, in the resort town of Nuevo Vallarta, while the final push, probably the last two weeks, will see the FIlipino icon training in Los Angeles or straight to Las Vegas.

Roach explained that Pacquiao can no longer train the whole eight to 10 weeks in the US.

“Because of immigration laws he must spend five weeks training outside America. The laws say we can spend 183 days (yearly) in America and that means the last three weeks of training will be here at the WildCard,” Roach told David Tyler of doghouseboxing.com.

Michael Koncz, a Pacquiao adviser, said the boxer likes the idea of training in Mexico where he can give his fans more time to know him more, and how Mexican fight fans love him.

“He’d be very happy to do that as a cross-over star. Mexican fans love Manny. And when I was there recently all they asked me about is where’s Manny. There was a rumor two weeks ago he was in Nuevo Vallarta, but it didn’t push through and everybody I ran into asked about him.

“Manny will be happily surprised when we get to Mexico. He’d be surprised about his popularity there,” Koncz added.

Heavy Pacman in no hurry to train

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao is walking around at 153 pounds and is in no hurry to kick off training for his Nov. 14 fight with Miguel Cotto.

Yesterday, during a break in the shooting of his latest movie, “Wapakman,” the best boxer in the world today said he doesn’t mind Cotto showing up at a gym in Puerto Rico last week to begin his three-month training.

“Maganda ‘yan para sa pagdating sa laban hindi na siya maka-suntok (That’s good so when it comes to fight time he can barely throw a punch),” said Pacquiao on the set of his movie where he plays a single father with some super-natural powers.

But Pacquiao vowed to start getting in shape soon, maybe two or three weeks from now when he’s done with all his non-boxing commitments.

“Basketball lang ang katapat nyan (All I need is to play basketball),” said Pacquiao who just inked the fight contract for the Cotto fight, set at a catchweight of 145 lb, and to be staged at at the 17,000 MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is being treated well while filming the movie. During breaks, he stays inside an air-conditioned tent where one can’t go hungry. He has his own portalet, which is also air-conditioned, and has practically everyone at his beck and call.

By the second week of September, Pacquiao plans to kick off his training in Baguio City, and after a week or so, he will fly to Mexico City for another four, five or six weeks of rigid training at Nuevo Vallarta. They’re also looking at Canada as a training venue.

In the past, eight weeks of training have proven well for Pacquiao.

His Canadian adviser, Mike Koncz, was scheduled to leave for the US last night, carrying with him the fight contract which will be presented to Top Rank president Bob Arum, who holds promotional rights over Pacquiao and Cotto.

“Now the fight is officially on. The documents have been signed. The fight is at 145 pounds on Nov. 14. And it’s a world title fight,” said Koncz who, however, said it remains uncertain whether the fight will be for Cotto’s WBO welterweight (147 lb) crown.

“We’re not certain as to which organization we’re gonna fight. There’s no confirmation yet on which organization,” he said, adding that Pacquiao, also the reigning IBO light-welterweight (140 lb) champ, is looking at a different crown.

“The WBC has a new category – the diamond belt. They just felt that now there’s a lot of good fights being made at catchweight, and the organizations wouldn’t sanction them as title fights. That’s why they decided to come up with something special,” said Koncz.

Trainer to Cotto: Hire me, you will KO Pacquiao

FAMOUS boxing trainer Emmanuel Steward sees WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto knocking out Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 15 (RP time) in Las Vegas.

That is if the Puerto Rican champion hires him.

Steward feels that if he will train Cotto, the Puerto Rican will have a huge chance of beating the best fighter in the world.

“Up until now, nobody has communicated with me (from Cotto’s camp) but I would love to be able to have the opportunity to work with Miguel. If we reach an agreement, I don’t have any doubts that Miguel will knock Pacquiao out,” Steward said in a report posted at BoxingScene.com.

Steward has trained some of the best fighters in history, including world champions and legends Thomas Hearns, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar de la Hoya, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

He hopes Miguel Cotto will join that list.

“I am one of the few people who gives Miguel a big shot to win that fight by boxing,” said Steward, acknowledging that Pacquiao is the odds-on favorite to win the fight.

Steward said going to the body will be Cotto’s best weapon against Pacquiao, who was knocked out once in his career by a body shot.

Credit

“Miguel is perhaps the best boxer to go to the body. I have seen some skills that can be improved and I know he can knock Pacquiao out,” said the Hall-of-Fame trainer.

Steward said he wants to train the 28-year-old Cotto because of his courage inside the ring, his heart and will to win.

“Miguel does not get the credit that he deserves and I know that a lot of people do not give him a shot at beating Pacquiao, but I do,” said Steward.