Cotto: "Pacquiao has fought a lot of tough fighters but never one like me"

BRONX, NY (September 10, 2009) – Boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound king and the reigning Fighter of the Year, MANNY “PacMan” PACQUIAO, and the pride of Puerto Rico and three-time world champion, MIGUEL COTTO, will be loaded for bear when they rumble in the mega-event of the year – FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO – for Cotto’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title and the first-ever World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond Belt. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MGM Grand and Tecate, FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO will take place Saturday, November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev., and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT..

Pacquiao and Cotto boast nine world titles in seven different weight divisions between them and a combined professional record of 83-4-2 (64 KOs) – a winning percentage of 93% and a victory by knockout ratio of 77%.

Remaining tickets are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges. Ticket sales at $1,000, $750, $500 and $300 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

After announcing their fight at an international public press conference in Yankee Stadium in New York today, Pacquiao and Cotto will proceed on a the remainder of the five-city coast-to-coast, two-ocean media tour which will take them to Caguas, Puerto Rico, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, California, and PETCO Park in San Diego.

“I will train harder than I have ever trained before because Miguel Cotto will be my toughest test as a professional fighter,” said Pacquiao. “I know Miguel Cotto is an excellent fighter and a great world champion.

“He is strong and smart and that is a dangerous combination for anyone who challenges him. But like every fight, I will not enter the ring alone. My countrymen don’t just give me their support. They also give me their strength, their pride and their love. That is why I must give my all. I fight to win and to give honor to the Philippines.”

“He has fought a lot of tough fighters but never one like me,” said Cotto. “The world will know who the best is when we meet in the ring"

"This fight will be the most exciting and memorable event that Top Rank has promoted in 40 years. I am certain it will take its place as an exciting and action-packed classic such as Hagler vs. Hearns and Ali vs. Frazier III. On November 14, Pacquiao vs. Cotto will join that list of boxing classics."

“This is a superior matchup between two of the best fighters in the world,” said Ross Greenburg, President, HBO Sports. “Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are two unique personalities, and because of that, we are looking forward to presenting another installment of our popular ‘24/7’ series.”

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, has won six world titles in as many different weight divisions ranging from 112 to 140 pounds. His performance in 2008 was described as “Henry Armstrongesque,” winning world titles at 130 and 135 pounds with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz, respectively, and knocking out and retiring Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds to finish the trifecta. This year, he picked up where he left off last year – winning another world title in a new weight division -- dealing defending junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton a one-punch second-round knockout on May 2.

Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, has sold more tickets to Madison Square Garden in this millennium than any other fighter. He has held a world title every year since 2004. Puerto Rico’s most exciting fighter, Cotto held the WBO junior welterweight crown from 2004-2006, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. He won his second welterweight title in February this year, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO welterweight champion. Notable scalps on Cotto’s belt include Sugar Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi, and Demarcus Corley.

The Pacquiao vs. Cotto pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, ‘N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA), Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game and the U.S. Open of Motocross.

Source: eastsideboxing.com