Roach: Cotto will go full route vs Pacman

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach wasn’t joking when he said lately that Miguel Cotto would be Manny Pacquiao’s “toughest fight.”

Yesterday, the three-time Trainer of the Year, who’s still mourning the very recent death of his younger brother, Joey, told doghouseboxing.com that Cotto has all the qualities to make a very dangerous fight for Pacquiao.

Roach predicted knockouts in Pacquiao’s recent fights, and turned out to be a good fortune-teller as the Filipino pound-for-pound champion decked David Diaz, Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton one after the other.

But in a lengthy interview with David Tyler, the American trainer can’t say the same with Cotto.

“You know that I’ve been making a lot of predictions lately, and I will give you one for sure.....this fight will go the distance!” Roach said during the interview.

“Cotto certainly has his hands full but he has some advantages against us. By fight time he will be 20 pounds heavier than us. He will be the bigger, stronger fighter who is a very resilient guy,” Roach added.

Roach said Cotto is a natural welterweight (147 lb) and the fight being at a catchweight of 145 lb may not spell a big difference.

“He is a true 147 pound fighter, he is very strong, he is a tough guy,” Roach told doghouseboxing.com.

Roach said he’s disappointed that Pacquiao, just a little over two months before the Nov. 14 fight, has yet to decide where or when training would start.

Cotto has been at the gym for almost three weeks now while Pacquiao is busy shooting movies and commercials. But Team Pacquiao said they’d all be done and over with by Sept. 5.

Pacquiao will fly to the US next week for a whirlwind press tour that would take him and Cotto to New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco and Los Angeles in six days.

Then Pacquiao plans to return immediately to the Philippines and kick off his training in Baguio City, a tourist destination that does not sit well with Roach as training site.

“I’m not pleased with him training in the Philippines, there are too many distractions, but that’s what he wants to my understanding, and I believe he is taking this fight too lightly. Mark my words this will be the toughest fight of his life,” said Roach. – Abac Cordero