LAS VEGAS – Boxing experts are mixed on who will win the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto mega-fight saying the outcome will be decided not only by the fighters in the ring but the role both corners play.

Nazim Richardson, trainer for Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, likes the way Pacquiao destroys bigger and stronger opponents and says the Filipino also knows how to impress the judges.

“I think Manny Pacquiao is going to steal the fight,” Richardson said. “He is good at letting his size fool people and when they see him darting around the ring looking scrappy, boxing and moving it translates into a round for him.

“Calling Pacquiao little in his weight class is like calling Mike Tyson a little heavyweight. He knows how to make the round look like the little guy is dominating a big man.”

Buddy McGirt, trainer for Antonio Tarver and Arturo Gatti, says Pacquiao has more experience in his corner with trainer Freddie Roach than Cotto’s trainer Joe Santiago.

“Pacquiao might have the psychological edge as he totally trusts Freddie and is very comfortable with him,” McGirt said. “It is a big stage for someone (Joe) who has never been there before.”

Muhammud Ali’s former trainer Angelo Dundee predicts Cotto’s savage power will take the fight into the later rounds.

“I have seen Cotto train twice now and he’s a stone-cold professional fighter,” said Dundee, who also trained Sugar Ray Leonard and George Forman. “He was oblivious to the outside world when I saw him and he’s very focused.

“You have a perfect blend of style in this fight. If I had a fighter fighting Pacquiao I would implement the things Cotto brings to the table. Certain ingredients that spell Cotto will give Pacquiao trouble.

“Cotto is a pressure fighter and he is going to be on Pacquiao from the get go.”

Ronnie Shields, who trained Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, also likes Cotto’s chances.

“Pacquiao has a lot of speed but I just feel Cotto is going to walk through him,” Shields said.

“There is no way that Pacquiao is going to be albe to wear Cotto down. Cotto is going to get much stronger. Pacquiao cannot take Cotto’s punches throughout the 12 rounds.”

SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/11/13/09/predictions-pacquiao-vs-cotto-mixed

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