FanHouse MikeTyson

Manny Pacquiao graces the cover of Time Magazine's Asia edition, and his corresponding five-page feature story is being included in the U.S. Edition with Hillary Clinton on its front.

The fighter's appearance in the magazine, which hit the news stands this past Friday, comes on the heels of his being in ESPN's Body Issue, his first, primetime television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and his recognition as a 2009 Gusi Peace Prize laureate.

As the focus of the feature entitled The Meaning Of Manny, the fighter is amazed at his cross-over appeal.

"I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today, and on the cover of Time Magazine," said Pacquiao, who will go after Miguel Cotto's WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title this Saturday at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

During the buildup of WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao, the challenger's trainer, Freddie Roach, says he's having fun at the expense of Cotto and his chief cornermen, Joe Santiago.

Cotto "is slower," and "gets hit so much more" since his 11th-round knockout loss to Antonio Margarito, and "his defense sucks, because he's training himself," said Roach.

See what else Roach had to say after the jump.

Although his Nov. 8 bout slated for Jeju Island, South Korea, was canceled, 47-year-old former four-time champion, Evander Holyfield, could fight South African, Francois Botha, on Dec. 19, in Uganda. A good showing in the Botha fight could also lead to a possible title shot at WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko, Holyfield's manager, Ken Sanders, told FanHouse on Tuesday.

"We do this fight in December, then I'd say in February or March, we could have a championship fight with the WBC's Vitali Klitschko," said Sanders, whose contention is supported by comments made by WBC president, Jose Sulaiman.

"If Evander comes and has a good showing in the fight that takes place in Jeju, I think that Klitschko might take a fight with him," Sulaiman, told FanHouse on Sept. 28 when Holyfield-Derric Rossy still was scheduled. "I believe that Evander Holyfield is one of the best heavyweight fighters of the last quarter century."

Among the motivations for Joseph Agbeko entering Saturday night's defense of his IBF, 118-pound title against Yonnhy Perez is his desire to achieve the greatness of two of his African predecessors.

Like Agbeko, a 29-year-old bantamweight titlist, Ghaninan legends such as three-time champion Azumah Nelson and former belt-holder Ike Quartey, hail from the city of Accra. Nelson excelled as a featherweight (126) and super featherweight (130), and Quartey, as a welterweight (147).

Nelson and Quartey have made appearances at Agbeko's training sessions, encouraging him during his quest to be considered among the sport's best fighters, pound-for-pound.

Showtime's Sports general manager, Ken Hershman, said that he is "thrilled" concerning the success of last weekend's two super middleweight bouts of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, even as he expressed concern and well-wishes toward Jermain Taylor, who was diagnosed with a concussion following his 12th-round knockout loss to Germany's Arthur Abraham.

After losing to Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) in a clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions, Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) was hospitalized for a few days in Germany following their 168-pound battle.

Arthur Abraham wants to be an American icon in boxing.

Problem is, out of Abraham's 30 fights, only two have been outside of his adopted Germany, and only one of those contests was in the United States.

But on Oct. 17, Abraham hopes to score a big victory toward expanding his name worldwide when he takes on Jermain Taylor in a clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions.

Puncher to Promoter is an upcoming documentary about Oscar De La Hoya that chronicles the fighter's transformation from his early childhood life as the product of a poor, underprivileged Latino family living in East L.A., into that of an Olympic gold medalist, a world champion and a top promoter.

"What audiences will find is that in the process of Oscar's ups and down, and through the course of his wins and his losses, they can learn -- as Oscar did -- to take failure and use it as a foothold on success," film director Leigh Simons promises. "Through the experiences outlined in Oscar's life through this film, the audience will relate."

FanHouse recently talked to Simons for this exclusive interview below.

An aging fighter who is approaching 40 years old, Vitali Klitschko said this past week that when the time comes he will truly know when to retire from boxing.

"I'm in great shape, and I am in great form. If I feel that I don't have it left anymore, I will announce my retirement. But not yet," said Klitschko, adding that Saturday night's performance in defense of his heavyweight World Boxing Council championship against Cris Arreola would go a long way toward determining his decision.

Not long after Vitali Klitschko's second-round knockout of Herbie Hide secured his first world title in 1999, he received a message from a man he idolized.

"You're not a world champion until you've fought in the United States," said German boxing legend Max Schmeling, who died in 2005.

"If you want to be the real world champion, you have to fight in America," Schmeling told Klitschko. "The United States is the mecca of boxing -- the biggest stage of them all."