Pacquiao wants 65/35 vs Cotto

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao will give Miguel Cotto 35 percent of everything if the welterweight champion from Puerto Rico agrees to go lower than 144 lb.

The Filipino boxing icon also said Monday evening he wants to fight on Oct. 17, and not on Nov. 14 as his promoter, Bob Arum. had planned.

“The first date that was given to me was Oct. 3 but I said I want Oct. 17,” said Pacquiao during the inauguration of the casino inside the Manila Grand Opera Hotel (the former Manila Grand Opera House) in Manila.

Pacquiao was mobbed as he stepped into the hotel at around 7:30 p.m. and was led upstairs to try one of the slot machines, a special one bearing his image, inside the playing area.

Flanked by other guests, he pulled out a P500 bill from his wallet and slipped it into the machine, and after a few misses, he placed a P200 bet and won P1,700.

“Kita mo, lumaki pa pera ko (You see, my money grew),” he said before turning back and abandoning the machine without even cashing in his earnings.

Later on, he talked about his next fight, which should be against Cotto, the WBO welterweight champion, on Oct. 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Arum, however, said it can’t be on that date, and Pacquiao should climb the ring on Nov. 14 or more than six months after he crushed Ricky Hatton last May 2.

Arum sat down with Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, in Las Vegas the other day, and the Top Rank president laid down his proposal for a Pacquiao-Cotto fight on the table.

“We haven’t talked to Mike yet. But as of now, Manny wants to fight on Oct. 17,” said Pacquiao’s lawyer, Franklin Gacal, who said Pacquiao will go through the proposal once Koncz arrives in Manila anytime soon.

“Pag-uusapan lahat (Everything will be discussed),” said Pacquiao who flew back to Gen. Santos City yesterday.

“We will go through it and study the proposal. If there’s a need for a counter-proposal then we will prepare one. But if not, then it’s shoot,” said Gacal.

“There’s still an issue in weight. We need to pull him a little bit more. I think it should be below 144 – even 142,” he added. – Abac Cordero