After Hatton, Pacquiao groomed to fight Cotto By NICK GIONGCO April 17, 2009, 9:44pm Bob Arum swears he is not looking past Ricky Hatton, but the Hall of Fame promoter already has a big-named opponent lined up for Filipino star Manny Pacquiao, who is set to rumble with the brash Briton on May 2 in Las Vegas. “Miguel Cotto,†Arum told the Bulletin over lunch at Manila Hotel Friday hours after arriving from the US. Arum said Cotto, a native of Puerto Rico, is fighting Joshua Clottey of Ghana on June 13 at Madison Square Garden in New York, and Pacquiao himself has told him that meeting Cotto is tops in his mind. “We can do it at Madison Square Garden,†said Arum, noting that Pacquiao will be at ringside when Cotto squares off with Clottey in the Big Apple. However, Arum reveals that should a fight with Cotto happen, it will not take place until late-November. “Manny told me that after this one (with Hatton), he would be available to fight next in late-November,†said Arum, who is in town to preside over Sunday morning’s double world championship fight at the Araneta Coliseum featuring flyweight champion Nonito Donaire and light-fly title challenger Brian Viloria. Arum cited that Hatton could pose problems for Pacquiao and while “anything can happen in boxing, (but) “speed kills and nine out of ten, speed wins as in any other sport.†Besides, Arum rationalizes, “Hatton can’t fight southpaws.†Arum said Pacquiao’s left-handed stance and his lightning-fast hands would mess up Hatton that the fight will end in the same manner Pacquiao won over David Diaz. “Pacquiao figures to win and Pacquiao figures to win big,†said Arum, a seventy-something Harvard-educated lawyer from New York. “Manny and Freddie have all this figured out.†Told that the now-retired Floyd Mayweather Sr. appears to be the right choice for a post-Hatton fight, Arum said this early that “Mayweather wants “60 percent†of the revenue and “I feel right now that Manny deserves the bigger percentage because he is the star.†Another option is for Pacquiao to battle Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. “in a catchweight of 150 lbs,†said Arum
Arum and Pac should be worried about beating Hatton first. There is no guarantee that is going to happen at all.
I prefer Cotto vs. Hatton.... and since Hatton is beating Pacquiao....it will happen..in the near future......
I don't know why they alway have to make these announcements before their fighter has even passed his present test. Not only does it put too much pressure on the one fighter but it also serves as motivation for his opponent. Then you wet the appetite of fans for a fight that may not even happen.
I think Pacquiao/Cotto is a very interesting fight at 147 Let's not forget that Arum is the promoter and Pacquiao the fighter. It's Arum's job to plan ahead for his fighters. As long as Pacquiao is not looking past Hatton that's all that matters.
So will you be critical of Cotto for fighting Mayweathers leftovers and for being a 140lber instead of fighting Shane or P-Will?
He already fought and defeated Mosley...something Mayweather doesn't even want to discuss trying.....and P-Will needs to pick a division to campaign in...Cotto has fought by far much better 147 competition than Mayweather...by far...
Also, that Cotto isn't looking past Clottey, who is going to hand Cotto his ass whether Cotto is looking past him or not. I agree, Cotto has fought the better competition by far than Floyd and the worst part is Cotto did it probably in less than a year and I can't even figure out how long we've been trying to get Floyd's bitch ass to step in the ring with either, Cotto, Margarito, or Shane. The shit is laughable. :doh:
Manny overlooking Hatton is a serious misjudgment right now. He and Arum should be looking no further than the best 140lb-er of the last five years, standing in the opposite corner to Manny in a few weeks, at this point... MTF
I really want Pac to win this fight, it's better for boxing, but the way Arum and possibly Manny seem to be dismissing Hatton like this is really starting to worry me, especially as I have money on the cunt!
Exactley! Both Pac and Cotto have live opponents, Like mentioned it's not a guarantee that they will win.
Not so sure about Hatton getting destroyed. He has always been a very strong fighter @140. I'm actually very excited about this fight.:bears:
