In a recent interview, world-renowned trainer Freddie Roach proclaimed that his star pupil, Manny Pacquiao, would knockout Miguel Cotto when the two fighters meet on November 14th. When informed of the bold prediction, Cotto took the time to send a stern warning to Roach. "Hey Roach, I have some news. I am not Oscar De La Hoya at the end of his career. I am not the overrated Ricky Hatton. Roach knows what Pacquiao will be facing on November 14. It Will be a war," he confidently stated in a recent interview with Primera Hora. Indeed, Miguel Cotto does bring up some valid points regarding his highly-anticipated showdown with Pacquiao and regarldess of what some people may think, he will be a legitimate challenge for the Filipino superstar.
Despite the fact that Pacquiao is a 2 to 1 betting favorite, Cotto will no doubt be his toughest opponent to date. Although the two fighters are meeting at a catch-weight of 145 pounds, that's only one pound less than what Cotto weighed in at for his last fight against Joshua Clottey, when he tipped the scales at 146 pounds. A former jr. welterweight champion himself, Cotto has never fought higher than the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. De La Hoya, on the other hand, spent more than seven years fighting at jr. middleweight (154 pounds) and even middleweight (160 pounds) before attempting to make a return to welterweight when he faced Pacquiao. In other words, unlike De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto will be facing Pacquiao at a weight he's much more comfortable at. While Pacquiao put on a masterful performance against De La Hoya, Cotto should prove to be a more formidable challenge at 145 pounds given the simple fact that he's been fighting closer to that weight for his entire career.
Furthermore, while Pacquiao's dominant victory over Ricky Hatton was impressive, it was certainly helped by the fact that Hatton did everything wrong in the bout. Fighting with his heart instead of his head, Hatton gave Pacquiao every opportunity to land his power punches. It was almost as if he pulled a Mayorga and stuck his chin out begging to be hit. Again, I take nothing away from Pacquiao in that performance as it was a thing of beauty, but I don't think Miguel Cotto will make the same mistake of fighting with his heart to please the fans. In fact, on the contrary, I expect Cotto to start the fight off like he always does, patient and cautious as he works behind his jab looking for an opening. That's not to say that it'll make a difference in the outcome of the fight, but at the very least, I don't expect him to be as easy of a challenge as Ricky Hatton turned out to be.
In the end, I still expect Manny Pacquiao to walk out of the ring as the winner. However, unlike his last three bouts against Hatton, De La Hoya and David Diaz, this time, Pacquiao will know he was in a war with a tough and worthy opponent. Thus far, Juan Manuel Marquez has proven to be Pacquiao's toughest opponent since losing to Erik Morales over four years ago. Come November 14, I think Pacquiao will finally overcome another tough challenge that will prove exactly why he's considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]