Champion Miguel Cotto has a message for challenger Manny Pacquiao as well as those who believe he can be successful during his quest to win a world title in a record seventh different weight class: "They picked the wrong guy."
"If he thinks he's going to reach a seventh title in a seventh different division, he picked the wrong moment, the wrong fighter and the wrong opponent," said Cotto, all but bristling during Thursday's conference call with the national media.
"If he thinks he's going to beat Miguel Cotto," said Cotto, "he's pretty much all wrong with that kind of thinking."
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
As it turns out, boxing champion Manny Pacquaio has been working on more then just boxing at his training camp -- among other things, he has been working on his "slapping" skills. In this FanHouse exclusive, we visit the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood where Manny is holding his camp. Manny's trainer Freddie Roach gives us an update on Pacquiao, while friends and fans give us their take on the Nov., 14 Pacquiao-Cotto fight.
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.
In this video, Holloway runs six miles, demonstrates his punching prowess, and explains why Figueroa represents "a big step up." Check out the video after the jump.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
With just a few days left in Los Angeles before the Manny Pacquiao camp heads to Las Vegas, the spirits in Hollywood are high. In this video we check out the skills of Manny's main sparring partner Shawn Porter, a fighter Freddie Roach says hits harder than Cotto. We also hear from Kenny, Shawn's father and trainer, who tells us the knockout artist has been boxing since he was 2 years old.
For the past few weeks, Angelo Dundee, has busily provided on-site expertise to media members at Tampa's Fight Factory Gym, where WBO champ Miguel Cotto has been in training for his Nov. 14, welterweight clash with Manny Pacquiao.
So it is no surprise that the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer wasn't aware that today is the 35th anniversary of Muhammad Ali's eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in "The Rumble In The Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire.
In fact, Dundee said that none of the many reporters clamoring for his opinion on Cotto-Pacquiao "has even mentioned it."
See what Dundee had to say about the historic bout during his Q&A after the jump.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
NBA star Ron Artest is a huge boxing fan, and this week he was thrilled when he stopped by the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood to watch Manny Pacquiao train for his Nov. 14 fight against Miguel Cotto.
In this exclusive FanHouse video, we talk to Ron, his father Ron Sr., who used to be an amateur boxer, and other fans. We also hear from Manny's sparring partners Rashad Holloway and Shawn Porter, and find out what Artest is going to be for Halloween.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Shawn Porter is an up-and-coming boxer who is getting an experience of a lifetime -- sparring with one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters in Manny Pacquiao. In this FanHouse exclusive, we catch up with Porter. He shares with us some behind-the-scenes moments.
Manny Pacquiao will be honored for his humanitarianism on Nov. 24 in Manila, when the world boxing champion will be named a 2009, Gusi Peace Prize laureate.
"I am truly humbled by this incredible honor and I would like to thank the Gusi family and the foundation," said Pacquiao, 30, whose immense popularity in his country has reached Muhammad Ali-like proportions, in a press release. "To be included in such a group of accomplished humanitarians is beyond anything I ever dreamed of. They are inspirational."
Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will never train the same thanks to another famous fighter sharing his given name, WBO welterweight boxing champion Miguel Cotto.
Torres was a special guest last week at the Fight Factory in Tampa, Fla., the site of Cotto's training camp for his Nov. 14 fight against Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
"I'm picking up a lot of details, a lot of little things he does different than what I would in one of my training camps," Torres told FanHouse. "And I got to see how a professional boxer at the top of his game conducts his training camp and how his trainers cater to his needs and make him a better fighter."