Yesterday, promoter Bob Arum paid a visit to Florida to check in on WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and his preparations for his upcoming clash November 14clash with Manny Pacquiao. "Miguel is in very good physical condition", Arum commented, "he still has work to do, but that is good. I wouldn't want him to peak too soon." Although Arum seemed pleased with what he saw, shortly after his visit, changes in camp were quickly made as one of Cotto's sparring partners was sent home sooner than expected. "Team Cotto is sending Gato home," stated jr. welterweight Frankie "Gato" Figueroa, who was brought in as a sparring partner with Cotto just last week.
Rather than elaborate on the circumstances of his removal, Figueroa simply laughed and had the following message for Cotto, "Good luck Cotto. Thanks for some sparring and getting my mind right for my upcoming fight." While the reason for Figueroa's departure is unclear, it certainly seems odd to bring in a sparring partner for just one week. Team Cotto has used Figueroa as a sparring partner for prior fights so they obviously knew what they were getting when they asked him to join them for this training camp. "I do try to emulate Pacquiao the best I can, but at the same time, I am doing my Gato moves," Figueroa stated in a recent interview with FightHype, openly admitting that he does incorporate his own style as he emulates Manny Pacquiao during sparring. Perhaps Team Cotto was unhappy with the work they were getting from Figueroa. Or maybe they had gotten all the work they needed from Figueroa after only one week and just a handful of sparrig sessions. Either way, the timing of his removal is interesting as it comes just one day after Arum visited the gym to witness a sparring session between Cotto and Figueroa.
There's no word yet on whether or not Team Cotto has brought in a new sparring partner. As of now, Cotto is left with Kenny Abril (9-3-1, 5 KOs) and 36-year-old Fred Tukes (7-1-1, 5 KOs) as sparring partners.
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