PACQUIAO TO FACE COTTO IN NOVEMBER SHOWDOWN

Boxing’s reigning ‘pound for pound’ king Manny Pacquiao will return to action this fall, facing a stiff challenge from welterweight title holder Miguel Cotto.  The bout will take place on November 14th at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Gardens and be telecast on HBO PPV in the United States.  The fight took some time to put together, with both camps haggling over money and weight—eventually the fighters agreed to meet at a 145 pound catchweight.

In his comments to the media, promoter Bob Arum expressed considerable relief that the fight had finally been made official.  According to Arum, that required some long distance negotiation as he attended a wedding in Israel and vacationed in Europe:

"It's done.  While I was away I reached a verbal agreement with each side. Pacquiao committed to the fight this weekend and Cotto the week before while I was in Israel. I was on the phone all the time trying to get this done. Everything is agreed or I wouldn't say what I am saying. The weight, the percentages, the guarantees -- it's all agreed to."

Though the fighters’ have yet to officially sign the contracts, Arum said that his lawyer was preparing the documents and that it all be in writing in a matter of hours.  While the financial terms of the fight weren’t made public, most insiders suggest that Pacquaio will receive somewhere between 53 and 55% of the money.  Paradoxically for the fight game, the money was never a serious issue and the most contentious negotiations were over the weight limit for the bout.  Pacquaio, who holds titles at the 140 pound junior welterweight level wanted Cotto—who usually campaigns at 147—to drop all the way down to 143 pounds.  Eventually, the 145 pound weight limit was agreed upon—some suggest after further financial incentive for ‘PacMan’ to accept the heavier weight.

One thing that is expected for this fight—a lot of action.  Both men are known for their penchant for slugfests.  In theory, that would seem to favor the naturally larger Cotto but Pacquiao has clearly demonstrated that he can move up and down in weight and maintain his devastating workrate and freaky power.  In his last two fights, Pacquaio has destroyed Ricky Hatton (2nd round knockout) and Oscar De La Hoya via 8th round KO in a fight contested at 147 pounds.  Those victories further enhanced his rock star like popularity in his native Philippines, and solidified his hold on boxing’s mythical ‘pound for pound’ championship.

Cotto is coming off of a controversial split decision victory over Joshua Clottey at New York’s Madison Square Garden in June.  His only loss was a KO setback to Antonio Margarito in August of 2008.