FanHouse Ricky Hatton

Manny Pacquiao's historic, 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto, whom he dethroned as WBO welterweight champ for a record, seventh title in as many weight classes on Saturday night, has generated 1.25 million buys, according to official records released to FanHouse by Mark Taffet, HBO's senior vice president of pay per view.

Along with Floyd Mayweather's Sept. 19, unanimous decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, which resulted in 1.05 million buys, this year represents the first time HBO pay per view has ever recorded back-to-back fights exceeding a million buys, Taffet indicated in Friday's e-mail.

Pacquiao-Cotto also marks the first time since 1999 that two, pay per view boxing events have totaled more than a million purchases, joining Felix Trinidad's controversial decision over Oscar De La Hoya, and, Lennox Lewis' disputed draw with Evander Holyfield.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that the early pay-per-view numbers released on Manny Pacquiao's victory over Miguel Cotto are "over a million and under 1.5 million buys -- and that's without all of the precincts being reported."

"They're not really accurate yet, but all that we can say with absolute certainty is that Pacquiao-Cotto was the biggest, revenue-producing event on pay-per-view for the entire year," said Arum. "And that surpasses all of the UFC. Everything. Any event. It's the biggest event of the year from the standpoint of revenue being generated."

Arum, who promotes Pacquiao (50-3-2, 37 knockouts), said that he met with officials at HBO on Thursday concerning the numbers.

Two days after guiding Manny Pacquiao to Saturday night's historic victory over Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas, trainer Freddie Roach was back in Los Angeles, where he runs the famous Wild Card Boxing Club.

And even as he worked with another world champion, Amir Khan, as well as other prospects, the Hall of Fame trainer and three-time Trainer Of The Year took the time, on Tuesday, to answer the gym's telephone.

"I'm a little bit tired, and a little bit drained right now, but I can't show that to the fighters," said Roach, speaking against the gym's background noise of the bustling boxers pounding on the heavy-, and speed-bags, as well as the ringing bells of those who were sparring. "Once I get into the gym, I work through it."

A former trainer for Bernard Hopkins, Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Virgil Hill and James Toney, among others, Roach took a break long enough to share Q&A time with FanHouse.

The 49-year-old boxing guru shared his views on Pacquiao's overall talents, Cotto's future, his intense relationship with Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, and how he would like his pound-for-pound best fighter to close out his illustrious career.

Floyd Mayweather was nowhere to be seen in the MGM Grand Hotel during the lead-up to this past Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight megafight. Nor could the undefeated, five-time champion and Las Vegas resident be found when Pacquiao made history by lifting from Cotto the WBO's 147-pound title belt.

But in the days since Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, stood in the ring before a packed MGM Grand Garden Arena and called out his name as the man he wanted to be Pacquiao's next opponent, Mayweather has gotten the message loud and clear.

Mayweather's name was even chanted by the crowd of more than 16,200, but he says that he just hasn't heard it from Pacquiao's own mouth.

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LAS VEGAS - While there was little drama during Friday's weigh-in between the competitors, Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, there was an incendiary, obscenity-laced verbal exchange between their respective trainers, Joe Santiago and Freddie Roach, before a boisterous crowd of about 6,500 fans at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.

Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) is defending his WBO welterweight title, a weight-category whose standard is 147 pounds. But since Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) is rising from a lower weight, they have agreed to a contracted catchweight of 145 pounds.

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LAS VEGAS -- After playing chin music with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, a confident Manny Pacquiao plans to sing some music at the nearby Mandalay Hotel.

Considered boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao plans to perform in a post-fight concert Saturday night with his MP Band.

Pacquiao has already had two albums go platinum in the Philippines.

Nicknamed "The Pac-Man," Pacquiao and his MP Band played a similar gig at The Beach at Mandalay Bay following his two-round knockout victory that dethroned junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton in May.

Throughout the promotion leading up to Saturday night's mega-fight between challenger Manny Pacquiao and his champion fighter Miguel Cotto, trainer Joe Santiago's reputation has taken a verbal beating from his counterpart, Freddie Roach.

A Hall of Fame cornerman whose hopes to guide Pacquiao to an unprecedented, seventh world title in a different weight class, Roach has taken shots at Santiago's relative inexperience.

But during Wednesday's press conference at the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand Hotel where Saturday night's clash will be held, Santiago stepped up to the podium and carried himself the same way that he has throughout the fight's buildup.

With a confidence, a calm demeanor, a calculated speech and, ultimately, control.

LAS VEGAS -- It's not something Manny Pacquiao talks about much nowadays, but earlier in his career, he was knocked out. In the third round. Not once, but twice.

And during an interview on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Hotel, surrounded by reporters with their tape recorders in his face, the man who is now considered boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound, admitted that he once considered quitting.

"After those fights, I'll admit, I was thinking, 'Oh, maybe I'm going to stop boxing,'" said Pacquiao, 30, referring to stoppages that occurred in 1996 and 1999. "I was thinking, 'Maybe boxing doesn't like me.' But then, it became a message to me to focus more on boxing."

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.

TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.

"Miguel is just a fighter with great, great heart," said Arum, whose 42 years in boxing began with the Muhammad Ali victory over George Chuvalo -- his first of 26 fights involving the man many call "The Greatest" -- and included the George Foreman comeback.

A 78-year-old Harvard graduate and attorney, Arum also handled every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, as well as substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

FanHouse caught up with Arum on Tuesday during Cotto's training in Florida for his Nov. 14 defense against Manny Pacquiao to discuss the futures of Cotto, Pacquiao, and several other fighters he promotes.