After meeting face-to-face for the first time and having an opportunity to size himself up, pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao does not think that Miguel Cotto will have any size advantage when the two fighters meet on November 14. "I think that the size is not a big difference. He's just a little bit bigger than me," he stated as he spoke to the media in attendance during yesterday's press conference at Yankee Stadium.
Just last year, Pacquiao fought at super featherweight (130 pounds) and lightweight (135 pounds) before closing out the year by defeating Oscar De La Hoya at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. He then started this year off with a bang by destroying Ricky Hatton at jr. welterweight (140 pounds). Next he takes on WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who spent the majority of his career as a jr. welterweight before moving up to welterweight himself nearly three years ago. Both fighters are set to face each other at a catch-weight of 145 pounds, but as the two stood next to each other, one could hardly notice any difference in size.
"It doesn't matter, the size. What we need to do is train hard and see who is the best in the ring. Miguel Cotto is also a good fighter and he's a champion. I'm just a challenger here for his belt, WBO, so I need to work hard for this fight in training," Pacquiao added, unfazed with any talk about a size advantage. Looking at both fighters, Pacquiao may be correct in his assessment as Cotto did not appear to be that much bigger. Of course, that being said, if there's not that big of a difference in size between the two, what's the point of fighting at a catch-weight to begin with?
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