MANILA, Philippines - Kilala mang kritiko ni Manny Pacquiao, naniniwala si American trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. na mananalo ang Filipino boxing superstar sa kanilang laban ni world welterweight champion Miguel Angel Cotto.
Sa panayam ng Doghouseboxing.com kahapon, pinansin ni Mayweather ang pagkakabugbog kay Cotto nina Antonio Margarito ng Mexico at Joshua Clottey ng Ghana.
“He will lose that fight because he took a beating from Margarito and Clottey,” ani Mayweather sa sinasabing pagkatalo ng 28-anyos na si Cotto sa 30-anyos na si Pacquiao. “In my book Clottey beat Cotto and if I had been in Clottey’s corner he would have knocked out Cotto.”
Si Margarito ang uma-gaw sa dating suot ni Cotto na World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown via eleventh-round TKO noong Hulyo 26, 2008 bago nakuha ng Puerto Rican ang bakanteng World Boxing Organization (WBO) belt mula sa kanyang fifth-round TKO kay Michael Jennings noong Pebrero 21, 2009.
Isang split decision ang naitakas ni Cotto kontra kay Clottey sa kanyang unang pagdedepensa ng WBO welterweight title noong Hunyo 13.
“Cotto just moves straight ahead and that’s the only type of fighter that Pacquiao will fight,” sabi ni Mayweather. “He can’t fight someone with boxing skills. (Erik) Morales showed you how to beat him in their first fight; the right hand did the trick.”
Nakatakdang hamunin ni Pacquiao, may 49-3-2 win-loss-draw ring record kasama ang 37 KOs, si Cotto (34-1-0, 27 KOs) para sa hawak nitong WBO welterweight belt sa Nobyembre 14 sa MGM Grand Garden Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Si Mayweather ang naghanda kay Briton Ricky Hatton bago ito pinatulog ni Pacquiao sa second round para sa International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight championship noong Mayo 3 sa MGM Grand.
At alam ni Mayweather, ama ni world five-division king Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather, Jr., kung paano talunin si “Pacman”.
“Speed is nothing if you can’t find something to hit. You counter that speed with constant movement, make him come to you, turn him so he is always lunging when he throws the left, that’s how to beat Pacquiao and that’s exactly what I told Ricky Hatton during training camp,” ani Mayweather. (Russell Cadayona)