Pacquiao vs. Cotto: Manny Doesn’t Look Focused

By Manuel Perez: After watching HBO’s Pacquiao-Cotto 24/7 episode 2 last Saturday night, I couldn’t help but notice how disengaged Manny Pacquiao appeared to be while preparing for his November 14th fight with World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Not only did Pacquiao look distracted as he one person after another vying for his attention, but Pacquiao also was getting pummeled in his sparring session with Shawn Porter.

This is really bad. I was hoping that Cotto would be facing a motivated and well trained Pacquiao, but the way Manny looks now, he’s going to get mowed down if he goes in the ring looking that. Pacquiao looks like he’s going to the gallows as the days draw closer to his epic fight with Cotto. I can’t remember seeing a more demotivated fighter in all my days. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, tried to give Pacquiao a pep talk after an especially bad sparring session but Pacquiao wasn’t meeting his eyes and didn’t seem to be attentive to what Roach was saying to him.
Roach let Pacquiao walk away without making sure that he understood what he had been telling him. I couldn’t believe it as I watched the whole scenario. Roach needed to make sure that Pacquiao was following what he was saying. I would have asked Pacquiao, “Do you understand me?” Roach is a nice guy and all, but he needs to be more assertive with Pacquiao because he’s not firm enough with the Filipino star.

I would have gotten in Pacquiao’s face and jammed him up for the way that he sparred with Porter. He looked really bad. Not only that, I’d have Pacquiao toeing the line. There wouldn’t be any basketball games or singing on television programs. God that was some awful singing if you ask me. Sounded like a wounded hound dog. The HBO 24/7 camera men could have done well to leave that bit out of the telecast.

Frankly, the entire episode 2 was painfully boring to watch, worse than any other 24/7 I’ve seen before. That’s saying a lot, because I’ve seen some really bad 24/7 episodes in the past couple of years. It seems like the whole bunch of them were sleep walking through the entire episode. What was especially sickening was the different players trying to curry favor with Pacquiao, as if he were some kind of king. I could never do that myself.

I’d give Pacquiao the straight talk and tell him to quit with the singing and make him ignore the boxing fans that are all over him trying to meet him. I’d have him with blinders on out in the some god forsaken place putting him through a torturous training camp that he’d never forget. Pacquiao might hate me afterwards, but at least he’d win the fight against Cotto. But the way that Pacquiao’s training camp appears to be going, I don’t give him a chance in hell of winning.

Pacquiao looks spaced out, distracted by something and not focused on Cotto. I don’t see any real training going on. Roach needs to have Pacquiao wired for this fight, but instead Pacquiao looks like a zombie, distracted and not tuned in. That’s too bad because it looks like Pacquiao is going to get a beating of his life against Cotto. I feel sorry for Pacquiao.

Source: boxingnews24.com