For the third time, legendary trainer Angelo Dundee is keeping off his bet on Manny Pacquiao in his Nov. 14 title showdown with Miguel Cotto.
Despite being proven wrong twice before by the Filipino boxing champion, the 88-year-old Dundee thinks reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title holder Cotto has got what it takes to pull off a stunning upset.
Hall of Fame trainer Dundee visited Cotto's training camp recently in Tampa, Florida, and was convinced the Puerto Rican champion can beat Pacquiao based on what he had seen.
“If I had to pick anybody in the world to fight Pacquiao, it would be Cotto," Dundee, who recently moved in from Miami to Tampa, told Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, whom he chanced upon at Cotto’s Florida training camp.
“Cotto has the best chance of anybody to beat him (Pacquiao) because of his physical power and strong left hook."
Despite being a revered boxing personality involved in the “sweet science" for more than six decades now, Dundee has never got it right in Pacquiao’s last two fights.
The long-retired trainer helped prepare superstar Oscar De La Hoya when he fought the "Pacman" a year ago in a mega-fight that ended with boxing’s "Golden Boy" quitting on his stool just before the ninth round of their "Dream Match" showdown.
The bout proved to be De La Hoya’s last as he retired shortly after.
And only last summer, Dundee also picked two-time junior middleweight champion Ricky Hatton to beat the hell out of Pacquiao. The opposite happened as the 30-year-old General Santos City native knocked the lights out of the boxer from Manchester and scored a swift, second round technical knockout.
As the man who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, Arum wouldn’t come out in public as to who he thinks will win the much-anticipated slugfest at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But having seen the two fighters sweat it out in training camps, the veteran boxing promoter, undoubtedly, is a lot impressed with Pacquiao’s work ethic.
“I think, in general, both guys looked very, very good," he said.
“Cotto looked strong. He’s Cotto. He works hard for two hours, He does all his sparring. He’s in tremendous shape," said Arum of the 28-year-old champion from Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Yet for Arum, Pacquiao does more than that.
“I know Cotto works hard, but in contrast to the other guy (Pacquiao), it looks like he’s taking a vacation," said the 77-year-old promoter. - GMANews.TV
No comments:
Post a Comment