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.
Source: philstar.com
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