WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto was on hand at the Friday Night Fights card in Miami Beach, Florida where he spoke with Teddy Atlas and Brian Kenny about his clash with Manny Pacquiao. "He's a good fighter. He's a great boxer, but he's going to face a welterweight in his prime time," he stated, implying that Pacquiao has yet to face a true welterweight fighter who's still in their prime.
"He's a speed guy, you know, but people said the same when I faced Zab Judah, when I faced Shane Mosley, and you didn't see the speed of them against me," Cotto added as he spoke confidently about the highly-anticipated showdown. When asked about the strategy he plans to employ, Cotto remarked, "I'm going to try to work everything, you know, try to work the head, the body punch, the movement, the pressure; I'm going to work with everything I can and I'm going to do it well in the fight."
Atlas, who openly admits that he believes Cotto is a psychologically damaged fighter, questioned the welterweight champion about his confidence after the Margarito fight. "If I didn't feel recovered totally after the Margarito fight, I didn't present the kind of performance I put against Michael Jennings and Clottey. I think I fought good with both guys. I received a huge cut on my left eye in the beginning of the third round and I was still fighting, you know, because I have a commitment with me, with my people and especially my family," Cotto calmly answered. "I'm ready!"
With a potential future opponent in Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Juan Manuel Marquez both fighting tomorrow night, it was only natural for Brian Kenny to get Cotto's take on the matchup. "It's going to be a tough fight, you know? Mayweather is a guy who stayed out of boxing for two years and he's facing one of the greatest in Juan Manuel Marquez and I think it's going to be a great fight, you know," Cotto replied as avoided giving an official prediction on who he thought would win. When Kenny pressed him for more information, Cotto simply stated, "You can't pick anyone because anything can happen in a fight...Mayweather is the bigger guy, the guy who is used to fighting in the welterweight division. It's new for Marquez, going up to 147 pounds, but I think it's going to be a really close fight."
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