Roach: Speed, not power will win the fight

MANILA -- Famed boxing coach Freddie Roach stressed that speed and not power will determine the outcome of the “Firepower” match up between Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto.

Roach, who has been preparing Pacquiao in Baguio City for his toughest fight yet, said he expects Cotto to come out with his guns blazing at the sound of the opening bell on November 14.

“I think Cotto will be aggressive and that he will be looking to show his strength. But once he has been hit, he will revert to being a counter puncher,” the American trainer told Gareth Davies of Telegraph.co.uk.

“Speed will win in the fight; not power,” he added.

Roach, who has studied Cotto’s fighting style even before the Firepower card was officially announced over a month ago, said the key in beating the Puerto Rican champ is taking away his advantages.

“When he fights a south paw he turns left handed a lot more and I expect him to do that with Pacquiao. He is naturally left-handed, clever, and he is dangerous because of that. Our job is to take that away from him,” he said.

Roach added that Pacquiao will have to rattle Cotto’s confidence early in the fight in able to break down the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champ.

“He will get more confidence if Manny lets him have his way early in the fight. The more we let him, the more his confidence will come back. We’ll going to let him know in the very first round what he is up against,” he said.

To prepare his prized ward for the tough grind against the Puerto Rican champ, Roach has lined up against Pacquiao sparring partners who has similar fighting styles with Cotto.

Among these sparring partners are American junior middleweight Shawn Porter and former World Boxing Council lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo.

According to Pacquiao’s conditioning specialist Alex Ariza, Castillo had a hard time figuring the Filipino out during Tuesday’s sparring session.

“[Manny is] so fast, so nimble. Castillo was trying to figure him out. He still has to get used to Manny,” said Ariza.

After sparring with the Mexican champ for 3 rounds, Pacquiao went on for 4 rounds with American junior middleweight Shawn Porter.

“It was Manny’s best sparring yet and he’s on point and went seven rounds easily,” said Ariza.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com