Cotto's training goes full blast

The arrival of a conditioning coach and a nutritionist signal the start of Miguel Cotto’s full-blast training for his November 14 clash with Manny Pacquiao.

The past two weeks, Cotto has been showing up in a local gym in Puerto Rico every other day for light workouts under the supervision of chief trainer Joe Santiago, something that his team believes will help them prepare for the toughest training camp the 28-year-old Cotto will head into in the coming weeks.

Cotto said Los Angeles-based Phil Landman, a South African native, is due in Puerto Rico on August 22. Two days later, Landman will be running alongside Cotto in the morning and attend the afternoon workout as well as they try to come up with a battle plan for Pacquiao.

Their main concern about Pacquiao is the Filipino’s blinding speed and this is the reason why Cotto is even thinking of tapping the services of a Lilliputian fighter Ivan Calderon, also of Puerto Rico, to help him get use to the Filipino’s lightning-quick reflexes.

Calderon is a mere 108-pounder but his quickness, Team Cotto, says, will enable Cotto to experience what would it be like to be on the same ring with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, remains in the thick of his showbiz commitments, filming a movie that is due for release during the December film festival.

But chief trainer Freddie Roach has already done his homework, having signed up four sparring partners, including young junior-welterweight prospect Raymond Serrano and lightweight Urbano Antillon.

Pacquiao is not going to begin training until he gets back to the Philippines from a four-city press tour that kicks off on September 10 in New York. From the Big Apple, Pacquiao will travel to Puerto Rico, then to San Francisco, and finally to Los Angeles.

Pacquiao plans to train for one or two weeks in Baguio before camping out possibly in Mexico.

Cotto's training goes full blast