Roach ‘100 % sure’ ward Pacquiao will KO Cotto

LAS VEGAS – Two months of waiting come to a fitting end Saturday (Sunday in Manila) when Manny Pacquiao finally climbs the ring and take on Miguel Cotto in a 12-round welterweight title fight projected to be the toughest in the colorful career of the Filipino ring hero. The 30-year-old General Santos City native has not lost a fight in the last four years – the last being a 12-round decision to Eric Morales – and daunting this title bout is for Cotto’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) championship, Pacquiao is confident victory will be served in this latest in a series of high-profiled fights for him. Freddie Roach, the master trainer behind the rise of Pacquiao as one of the greatest boxers of his era, is more than convinced they’ll blow away the bigger and stronger champion from Caguas, Puerto Rico. “One hundred percent," was Roach’s curt reply when asked if he’s standing by his earlier prediction of knocking Cotto out. Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37KOs) is less committed, but nonetheless convinced he can overcome the 29-year-old Cotto in his bid to win a seventh world title in a record seventh weight division. “I’m hoping for my victory," said the most popular Filipino today on the eve of arguably the biggest and highly-anticipated match this year. Victory has come in handy for Pacquiao in his last 10 bouts, the last three of which didn’t even last 10 rounds as he demolished David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton one after the other in a year’s span. But just as secured as the challenger is Cotto, the former Olympian and son of a military man, who vows to prove the oddmakers wrong after putting him a 2 ½-1 underdog against the top pound-for-pound fighter of the world. The champion (34-1, 27 KOs) already made one significant step towards that direction when he came in at the exact contract weight of 145 pounds during the official weigh-in Friday before a raucous crowd of 7,000 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Saturday in Manila). It was the lightest Cotto ever weighed since fighting Zab Judah two years ago. Pacquiao tipped in at 144, the heaviest ever for the Filipino. “I ate pretty well for this fight," said Cotto, trying to dismiss reports he’s having a hard time losing the extra pounds after moving to welterweight in 2006. “I’m healthy and my strength will be too much for this fight," he added shortly after the weigh-in, marred by a heated exchange of words between Roach and Joe Santiago, Cotto’s trainer. The Puerto Rican champion is expected to come in at 155 to 160 pounds on the night of the fight, the heaviest opponent Pacquiao will ever face. Although he won his last two assignments against Michael Jennings and Joshua Clottey, many believe Cotto has not been the same fighter since that bloody 11th round knockout he suffered at the hands of Antonio Margarito, the first and only loss of his. Great fighter In the eyes of Pacquiao, however, Cotto is still a great fighter. “We’ve studied that fight (Margarito). I think he’s still good. He’s still the same fighter," the Filipino ring icon said. While Cotto needed to take protein shake after the weigh-in, Pacquiao enjoyed eating a full meal, the first in an eight-meal serving prior to the fight when Roach expects his most famous ward to climb the ring at 148 to 149 pounds. “He’s really punching harder than ever right now and he has really filled out. He is definitely getting better all the time," said Roach of Pacquiao. “He’s a lot stronger than he used to be, he’s getting used to the weight, he’s more mature, he knows how to use the weight to his advantage now. He’s always been a small guy, but he hasn’t lost the punch at all. He can punch better with the weight. He’s physically stronger than people give him credit for. You’ll see in the fight." Kenny Bayless will be the third man in the ring, while the three judges scoring the bout are Adalaide Byrd, Duane Ford and Dave Moretti. - GMANews.TV