HOLLYWOOD – The bright lights of Las Vegas await boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao, who is expected to arrive in “Sin City” on Monday night (Tuesday morning in Manila).

The 30-year-old boxing superstar is scheduled to travel to Vegas Monday in what should be a super-busy timetable for him.

An hour roadwork will have Pacquiao up on his feet early in the morning, before he does the final sparring session of his eight-week training that brought his entourage from the mountains of the Cordilleras in Baguio City to the cool California weather here.

Filipino ring superstar Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican bomber Miguel Cotto. Top Rank photo“Mag-spar pa mga three or four rounds na lang siguro,” said assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez of the scheduled sparring that will bring to 153 the rounds of sparring Pacquiao has had in the last two months as he prepares for his Nov. 14 showdown with world welterweight champion Miguel Cotto

“Puro pababa na lang. Maintain na ng condition,” said the boxing idol.

Then, it’s off to Vegas.

Team Pacquiao in full force

A convoy of vehicles is expected to accompany the Pacman – riding on his reliable black SUV – on the six-hour, 250-mile road trip from here to the world’s so-called “Gambling Capital.”

Towing behind him are trainer Freddie Roach, conditioning coach Alex Ariza, along with family members that include wife Jinkee, his mother Dionisia, father Rosalio, members of the media, and other close friends.

Also traveling with the group is the colorful, customized Manny Pacquiao bus provided by Top Rank Promotions that has become a staple in all of the Filipino’s fights of since the “Dream Match” with Oscar De La Hoya last year.

Pacquiao is expected to arrive just before midnight in Las Vegas, where he will stay in his traditional 60th floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Cotto already there

Cotto, the 29-year-old native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, has already been in the state of casino and entertainment as early as last week and has been billeted at the MGM Grand along with his group that included trainer Joe Santiago, conditioning coach Phi Landman and best friend Brian Perez.

On Tuesday, Top Rank holds the formal arrival rites of the two boxing stars, with Pacquiao first to appear at the lobby of the MGM Hotel, followed by Cotto about an hour later.

Top Rank publicist Lee Samuels said the final press conference for the sold-out match dubbed “Firepower” is set Wednesday at the Hollywood Theater (Thursday in Manila), while the official weigh-in is on Friday at the Grand Garden Arena (Saturday in Manila).

Jogging on a rest day

While Sunday is usually rest day, Pacquiao insisted on doing his morning jog at the La Brea Park, just a block away from his high-end Palazzo apartment.

After taking a quick shower and brief rest, the reigning pound-for-pound king proceeded to attend a mass at the Christ The King Church, before heading back for home where he had lunch with family members.

Pacquiao spent the afternoon practicing with his band that will perform during the post-fight party set after the 12-round title bout.

Finally, he called it a day. – GMANews.Tv

SOURCE: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/176591/pacquiao-off-to-las-vegas-for-training-windup

Manny Pacquiao is set to take on a serious challenge when he faces off against Miguel Cotto later this month. The highly anticipated match up pits two of the biggest names in the sport, which is certainly helping the hype around the mega event. You can catch the fight on a live telecast of HBO PPV on November 14th. Check your local cable or satellite dish receiver for more details.

Recently during his rigorous training at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Pacquiao took some time out 
 
to discuss his upcoming bout againt Cotto.

Pacquiao has done extremely well under the guidance of Roach and considers some of his success to being such a keen student of the science. So what does Pacquiao consider himself to be? “I consider myself a student of boxing, a philosopher so to speak, and my philosophy is to keep learning,” stated Pacquiao.

Pacquiao who certainly does not come off as stupid, likens how he studies to the same way a student would apply himself in school. “If you have a math test on Tuesday, you are not going to do very well if you study science on Monday,” explained Pacquiao, adding: “You have to study for math. It’s the same thing in boxing. You can’t just go to the gym and work out every day and hit bags. That’s not enough.”

Pacquiao went on to explain that studying tapes of his opponent is a must and that… “You need to design and develop different game plans for you opponent. You just need to be prepared.”

On TV This Weekend: On this upcoming Saturday (Nov 7) at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT., catch HBO’s TV reality series “24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto”. The TV program returns with a new episode (Pt. 3 in a series of 4). To find out more, check your local cable or satellite dish receiver for more details.

SOURCE: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Benz/DHBenz1105b09.htm

HOLLYWOOD—Miguel Cotto is set to hit California on Tuesday for a media workout in a popular Los Angeles boxing gym, where he is expected to showcase the result of several weeks of training.

Team Cotto has already packed up its training camp in Tampa, Florida, and is now in Las Vegas, where he will defend his WBO welterweight crown against Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand.

The media workout will take place around noon at the Pound4Pound gym on La Cienega Boulevard.

And based on comments coming out of Team Cotto, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican may give sports journalists a peek into how he plans to attack Pacquiao’s weakness—one that was supposedly spotted during the Filipino’s fight against Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez.

“The same way that Freddie says he has seen weaknesses in Miguel, we know the weaknesses of Manny,” Cotto trainer Joe Santiago told Fightnews.com on Monday.

“If there’s any doubt, just review the eighth round of his second fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.”

Marquez opened up a cut over Pacquiao’s eye with a straight right and then rocked the reigning pound-for-pound king with a left hook, Cotto’s pet punch.

“Not that you can compare Marquez to Cotto,” Santiago added in the interview. “There’s no comparison. Cotto has more tools. He’s a versatile fighter who knows boxing.”

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) will have his own media workout the following day at the Wild Card gym. He is scheduled to spar on Tuesday with Ray Beltran, Rasheed Holloway and Shane Porter.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, is expected to cut the number of sparring rounds for his ward as he tapers off going into the final 10 days of training.

The six-division champion, who has thus far logged 130 rounds of sparring, spent Tuesday doing 16 rounds with the mitts with Roach.

Wright picks Cotto

Meanwhile, WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez, former champion and Cotto victim Carlos Quintana and former light middleweight titlist Winky Wright all told Boxingscene.com that the Puerto Rican should have no problem dealing with Pacquiao in the fight dubbed “Firepower.”

However, Lopez, a rising star in the boxing ranks, said that if Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) performs the way he did against Joshua Clottey— who the Puerto Rican barely survived—Pacquiao may end up celebrating another big win.

“In his last fight, Cotto was a little tired at the end, and because Manny throws a lot of punches, that could make [Miguel] tired,” Lopez said. “If that happens, he will have problems.”

SOURCE: http://sports.inquirer.net/professional/professional/view/20091104-233905/Marquez-fight-gives-Cotto-idea-how-to-attack-Pacquiao