Roach ponders Pacquiao's plan

Now that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight Miguel Cotto, trainer Freddie Roach will have several months to put Pacquiao's game plan in place for the Nov. 14 bout at the MGM Grand Garden.
Roach said he has been working on a strategy to beat Cotto for a couple of months.

"I know Cotto pretty well," Roach said. "But I haven't really studied him yet. I have a pretty good idea how we want to fight him, but until I sit down, watch the tapes and talk to Manny, we're still in the planning stage."

The bout will be contested at a catch weight of 145 pounds, between welterweight (147) and junior welterweight (140).

Pacquiao is relaxing at home in the Philippines, and Roach said serious training is probably a few weeks away. A typical Pacquiao camp lasts from eight to 10 weeks, starting in the Philippines, then moving to Roach's gym in Hollywood and finishing in Las Vegas.

"I'll go (to the Philippines) sometime next month and we'll get started," Roach said. "For this fight, speed is going to be important. I think if you get Cotto in a fast-paced fight, he'll tire. So we want to come out quick and set a fast pace. Speed is our biggest asset."

Roach said Cotto figures to be stronger than Oscar De La Hoya was when Pacquiao fought him in December at 147 pounds. He said Cotto's power is a factor.

"He's a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger," Roach said. "But I think Manny's the better boxer, and Manny's defense is the best it's been. I think Pacquiao will stop him along the way."

Roach has kept busy since Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton on May 2. He was in London last weekend working Amir Khan's corner when Khan beat Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA junior welterweight title. While Roach was in London, one of his newest fighters, Cuban super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux, was impressive at Planet Hollywood, winning by first-round knockout over Robert Griffin.

"Amir did a nice job. He looked very good," Roach said. "Rigondeaux, I heard he did well. He's a kid with a lot of talent. He's coming back to the gym this week, and we'll keep working with him and get him in the ring soon."

• ANGULO IN PRIMM -- Super welterweight Alfredo Angulo headlines an Aug. 7 card against Gabriel Rosado at Primm Valley Resorts.

Angulo (15-1, 12 knockouts) is coming off a 12-round loss to Kermit Cintron by unanimous decision in May. Angulo is ranked No. 6 by the WBC and WBA and No. 8 by the IBF and WBO. Rosado (12-3, seven KOs), has won seven of his last eight fights.

The Gary Shaw-promoted card will be televised by ESPN. Tickets are $10 and $35, and the card will start at 6 p.m.

• PETER JOINS TOP RANK -- Former heavyweight champion Samuel Peter has signed with Top Rank, and the Las Vegan was scheduled to fight Marcus McGee on Saturday in Mexico on the Latin Fury card. Peter (30-3, 23 KOs) has lost two straight, most recently a 10-round majority decision in March to Eddie Chambers.

• SILVER NUGGET -- An amateur card is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Silver Nugget Events Center in North Las Vegas. There will be at least 20 bouts with fighters from 8 years old to 30 competing. Admission is $10.

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Cotto not staking title in Pacquiao bout

MANILA, Philippines - Unless he changes his mind, Miguel Cotto

won’t put his belt on the line against Manny Pacquiao.

“No,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum told The STAR when asked if Cotto would stake his WBO welterweight crown for his fight with the Filipino pound-for-pound champion on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.

Cotto will face Pacquiao at a catchweight of 145 lb but can put his 147 lb title at stake if he wants to.

But the champion from Puerto Rico, at the moment, is not thinking about it.

“He doesn’t want to pay the sanction fee. So, no, Miguel Cotto will not stake his crown against Manny Pacquiao,” said Arum over the phone.

However, WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel insisted yesterday it should be a title fight.

Arum said sanction fees if it becomes a title fight could amount to as much as $400,000.

However, the legendary promoter from Top Rank who has both Pacquiao and Cotto in his stable said it’s going to be a huge fight – with or without the title.

Arum said he doesn’t even care if there’ll be no title at stake. What’s important, he said, is for the people to see a great fight between the two great fighters.

“Nobody in the US cares about the title,” said Arum, adding that it’s going to be a 12-round battle just the same at the 17,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

There are no signatures on the fight contract yet, but Arum said there’s nothing to worry about, even as Shane Mosley, the other welterweight champion from the WBA, has dangled everything but the kitchen sink for Pacquiao to fight him instead.

“There’s no contract yet but everything’s been agreed upon. We’re finalizing everything and maybe we can get it done this week or early on next week,” said Arum.

Understandably, Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound king and IBO light-welterweight champion, will get the lion’s share and that could mean 65 pecent of everything.

Pacquiao got a guaranteed purse of $12 million for facing Ricky Hatton last May and his take for this one, only his second and last fight this year, should be just around the vicinity if not bigger.

Mosley is hot in pursuit of Pacquiao, saying he deserves the right to face the Filipino icon, and not Cotto. The native of Pomona, California, said he’s willing to face the southpaw from Saranggani in his own weight of 140 lb for 40 percent of the purse.

Yesterday, reports came out about Mosley’s latest offer.

“What does Manny want? Mosley was quoted by Michael Marley. “He can have all my old title belts. They just sit in my garage and gather dust as it is. I’ve got an old pool table I never use. I’ve got some great old music on those eight track things. I could also wash and wax Manny’s cars if he likes.

“Manny can have it all if he wants it...hell, Manny can even have cutman Cassius Greene’s sailor’s cap. Do you know what you could get for that on Ebay?” said the 38-year-old champion.

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'Call Em Out Fridays': Cotto/Pacquiao - Odd Angles Make An Even Affair

This week's 'Call Em Out Fridays' segment shines the spotlight on two men who need little more attention than they've already received in wake of the recent buzz around the world of boxing. The old adage has it that "anything worth having is worth waiting for", and in this case, it took weeks upon weeks of grueling negotiations, but despite no ink touching the contracts just yet, the fight that fans around the globe highly anticipate is finally said to be sealed, and simply waiting for delivery.

In one corner, you have a warrior has hails from a small island that has arguably produced some of the biggest talent to ever land in the sport. To his opposite, you have an opponent - small in stature, but huge in effort - who enters the ring with the weight of a country whose fierce spirit burns eternally within forever. It's very common to decipher certain aspects of a fight, but perhaps it's the odd angles that stand out the most, as they will ultimately dictate the final terms in the end. In an effort to analyze those determining factors, we take a close look at a very key four:

Determining Factor #1: KO POWER OR CUMULATIVE EFFECT?: Both men have their share of knockouts, but clearly, one is viewed as being more powerful than the other. As it relates to Pacquiao, we have seen him destroy opponents with single punches, but against the elite, while he has been able to knock a few down, only Hatton failed to recover - which in the mind of some doesn't say too much. In Cotto, Pacquiao faces an opponent who has handled the power of the sports hardest punching welterweights (Mosley, Clottey, and Margarito). At points in his career, Cotto was viewed as being a bit chinny, but after his move up in weight, such problems remain a thing of the past. When you reverse this scenario, the level of intrigue tightens up considerably. That notion sparked by this question.....Who was the hardest puncher Pacquiao has ever faced? Not quite sure who your answer was, but now, follow that question up with this one....Is that man HALF the puncher that Miguel Cotto is? My money says absolutely not! Oscar De la Hoya and Ricky Hatton both failed to deliver flush shots, so that brings to light the argument of some that Pacquiao has yet to truly feel the power of a formidable opponent (in his prime) above the lightweight division, and even there, the power of Diaz compared to Cotto is quite a ways off. Granted, Pacquiao's speed and the frequent barrage of blows will make him effective, and there's no better closer in the sport today than Manny Pacquiao. That being said, Cotto arguably has more of a chance of ending the fight, based on the fact that he not only boast greater one punch power, but an accumulation of his body shots make him far more dangerous considering that Pacquiao has never faced such power. Pacquiao's angles and speed will be surprising to Cotto, but I'm not so sure I'm ready to say that he has more power than Antonio Margarito does - and it took him 11 rounds, (potentially with loaded gloves) to stop Cotto. Head to head on this topic, I think one man has much more of a chance to end the fight early than the other. That one man....MIGUEL COTTO.

Determining Factor #2: WEIGHT AND CONDITIONING: This is clearly one of the main things to watch. As odd as it is, we have seen Pacquiao slightly winded in the mid-rounds, but never during the championship rounds. Not even his harshest critics could deny that he always saves the best for last. In the case of Cotto, many questions loom. Against Mosley he did very little in the late rounds. Against Judah, it was the same thing. Against Margarito, he stated that the blood in his mouth that leaked from a bloody nose contributed to his fatigue. Be it true or false, it paralleled his ever-evolving reputation for not having enough in the tank when he found himself with the fight hanging in the balance. Recently, conditioning has been more of a focal point, yet against Clottey, the results were still somewhat non-apparent. When it comes to size, Cotto is clearly the bigger man, but so was Oscar De La Hoya against Floyd Mayweather jr. In that fight, those who didn't know learned that a little, more skilled, faster fighter can quickly gain an advantage against a bigger, not-as-fast opponent. Who has the advantage in these areas? Most would probably lean towards MANNY PACQUIAO.

Determining Factor #3: NEVER SAY DIE: Both men are known around the boxing world as true warriors, but one fundamental difference between the two speaks volumes. Pacquiao has lost a few fights, but they were all either on his back or on the score cards. Miguel Cotto has only one loss of his career, but it came while standing on his own two feet. Some would raise health concerns, but in an era of combat sports where every man wants to establish himself as an 'ultimate fighter', to know that Cotto suffered his only pro loss while standing certainly removes the shine from an otherwise stellar career. Both men have taken part in some of the biggest stages of the sport in recent times, but when the bright lights of Vegas flash on and the media hype begins to swirl, how will each man react in their greatest moment of adversity? Common knowledge says neither one of these men will quit, but history tells us that stranger things have happened. Which man is more prone to weather a fierce storm when the going gets rough? I say this one is EVEN.

Determining Factor #4: CORNER HELP: Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao have a bond only rivaled by that of a Father and his son. The chemistry, strength and ability that bleed from this union is second to none in the sport today. Not only is their bond a very genuine one, but the results rendered have made them a near flawless tandem, and no one in recent times has been able to change that. In the corner of Miguel Cotto, things aren't quite so simple. The man who practically molded him to who he is today currently sits idle, waiting for work, yet tensions from the past have kept him away from his nephew who now finds himself in need perhaps more than ever. Emmanuel Steward and a few other names have been tossed around, but no matter who comes in, with roughly 3 months remaining until showtime, conventional wisdom says that there's no way he could learn a new 'way' and be totally comfortable and ready come fight night. As of now, Cotto's corner chief remains a mystery of the unknown. The proverbial "X". In the English alphabet the letter "W" comes before the letter "X", but if Cotto plans to win this fight, he'll need to find the "X" before he can get that well coveted "W". The nod in this category goes to PACQUIAO.

There will be many other breakdowns of this fight between now and fight night, but when you get beyond the typical height/reach arguments, these four categories will clearly go the distance in a fight that many predict will not. The countdown is on....Let the buzz begin!

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Floyd Mayweather in the Fight of His Life ... with the UFC

On September 19, Floyd Mayweather will make his return to boxing after almost a two-year absence. He’ll be fighting two hungry and motivated opponents that night – Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the ratings. And though no one in boxing would dare to challenge the skills of the great Marquez, given the fact that he’ll be fighting a good three weight classes above his natural weight, well, the UFC just may prove to be Floyd’s more formidable foe.

Mayweather’s fight with Marquez was supposed to go off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 20, but Mayweather postponed the bout due to what remains a mysterious rib injury. Many boxing pundits opined that Floyd might have manufactured the injury in order to push the bout back due to sluggish ticket sales and the overall malaise that has surrounded Vegas during this recession summer.

So the bout was rescheduled at the MGM Grand for September 19, when it will be broadcast live on HBO pay-per-view. Of course, there will be another big-time PPV fight card that same night, UFC 103, which is taking place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and headlined by Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.

It’s the first time in history that a major mixed martial arts card will be competing with a big-time boxing match on pay-per-view. Granted, neither event is gigundous. It’s not as if you have UFC 100 going up against De La Hoya/Mayweather. But the fact of the coinciding pay-per-view cards will still garner a lot of media investigation, especially because the plotlines involved are thick, and all center on that enigmatic, tempestuous braggart known as Money May.

After a dubious stab at retirement, Mayweather is returning to boxing purportedly to reclaim his status as the sport’s pound-for-pound king from the upstart Manny Pacquiao, who is currently boxing’s consensus pound-for-pound best. Since the announcement of Mayweather/Marquez, which came at a press conference on the morning of Pacquiao’s stunning knockout of Ricky Hatton in May, even casual boxing fans have been electrified at the eventual possibility of a winner-take-all pound-for-pound showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather.

To this point, there have been no formal negotiations between the two camps about making this fight (none reported anyway), but the informal negotiations that have taken place via the media have been hot and heavy, with both sides insisting that their man is the best fighter and biggest draw in the sport and therefore should command the lion’s share of the money when and if a Pacquiao/Mayweather fight goes down.

In terms of the actual boxing, each has a compelling claim to top dog status, but when it comes to the question of drawing power, right now Floyd would seem to have the better argument. After all, Pacquiao and Mayweather share two prior opponents – Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Each fought them back-to-back, respectively – Mayweather in 2007 and Pacquiao in December of ’08 and then May of this year. All four bouts were broadcast on HBO PPV, and a comparison of the numbers gives a decided advantage to Mayweather. His bout with Oscar did a record 2.4 million PPV buys (making it the biggest boxing match of all time) while Pacquiao’s did 1.25 million, and his bout with Hatton did 915,000 buys while Pacquiao’s did 850,000.

Of course, even more than most things, boxing is a “what have you done for me lately?” universe, and while Mayweather has sat out his dance card since December of 2007, Pacquiao has turned himself into a marquee pay-per-view draw. Once could even argue that Pacquiao’s 850K against Hatton is more impressive than Floyd’s 915K when you adjust the scale for the down economy.

Either way, it goes without saying that the numbers for their next fights are going to be very significant to any negotiations that might take place between them. And on that front, Floyd appears to be skating on thin ice. Pacquiao’s next fight was announced this past week – he’ll face Miguel Cotto on November 14, also at the MGM Grand in Vegas. This news was greeted with almost universal exhilaration from the boxing community and the fight is already a hot topic of debate all over the internet.

Meanwhile, Mayweather/Marquez has failed to capture the imagination of even the hardcore boxing audience. While no one connected with boxing in any way would ever disrespect the skills of Marquez, the fact that he is facing such an oppressive weight disadvantage in the fight makes it a less than compelling narrative. Granted, there are nearly two months left until fight night, but still, this event is simply not generating the kind of buzz that presages a massive PPV bonanza. HBO’s Mayweather/Marquez 24/7 likely will help with that, and no doubt Floyd has some crazy antics up his sleeve to draw attention to the fight, but nevertheless, if I were to wager on the pay-per-view over/unders right now, I’d put Pacquiao/Cotto at a mill and Mayweather Marquez at 500K, with the caveat that 500K is a very generous number.

Especially when you factor in the x-factor of UFC 103. September 19 promises to be a watershed night for both boxing and MMA, because it’s a night that will provide some hard numbers toward an investigation of whether the two sports are directly competing for fans or not. There’s been some low-level, ill-defined war of words between boxing and MMA for years now concerning who’s tougher, who would beat who in what, which is more popular, etc. And it’s fitting that Mayweather should be at the center of the upcoming storm, because he has a long history of shooting off his mouth about the UFC, questioning the skills of its combatants, likening them to “animals,” and most recently making this bizarre racial argument for the entire existence of mixed martial arts:

“In boxing, we know who's dominating. Black fighters and Hispanic fighters is dominating in this sport. And this is not a racial statement but no white fighters in boxing that's dominating, so they had to go to something else and start something new."

I’m not going to go into the reasons that this is a ridiculous, ignorant and offensive thing to say (and Floyd, if that’s not “a racial statement,” then what the hell is?). It’s not worth wasting my precious typing energy refuting something so plainly stupid. I only bring it up to illustrate the ways in which Floyd has shown himself to be more than willing to hit below the belt where mixed martial arts is concerned.

But now, MMA has a chance to hit him back, and hit him where he lives. Maybe it will turn out that there is no relative impact on the pay-per-view numbers of Mayweather/Marquez and UFC 103, and we can all conclude that the much ballyhooed competition between boxing and MMA for the fight fan’s dollar is a red herring. Or maybe not – maybe each event will take a perceived hit at the box office, or one more than the other. Or maybe, as has been suggested on the blogs for a few weeks now, the UFC will move UFC 103 to Spike and really mess with Floyd’s world.

As it stands right now, the UFC 103 card is relatively weak, and it’s hard to imagine many boxing fans that generally would buy Mayweather/Marquez deciding to jump ship to the UFC for such a lukewarm roster of fights. But if it were free? If fans can save 50 bucks in this economy, still get a good Saturday night of bloodlust, and then check out the May/Marquez replay on free HBO the following week? That seems like a situation that definitely could negatively impact the PPV numbers for Mayweather/Marquez.

And those numbers aren’t shaping up to be that good to begin with. The fact is that if Floyd/Marquez does somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300K in PPV buys, it’s a tremendous embarrassment to Mayweather win, lose or draw, and a huge obstacle to his future success at the negotiating table. On that score, Marquez is only one of the fights Floyd will be waging come September. The other is with those “animals” in the cage, and right now, I got that fight at even money.

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Cotto's strap up for grabs by Manny Pacquiao

Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, lawyer and president of the World Boxing Organization, is not tone deaf.

Valcarcel has heard the cry from the millions of Manny Pacquiao fans and those who devoutly follow the fistic fortunes of Boricua Bomber Miguel Angel Cotto.

As I reported, Cotto has thought he could hold the WBO welterweight title hostage and use it as a blackjack on the head of the Pacquiao-Cotto Nov. 14 promoter Bob Arum.

I caught up with Valcarcel as he was going through airport security somewhere and we had a brief conversation Friday afternoon.

Whatever happens in Cotto’s money play with Top Rank’s top dog, Valcarcel said that Pacquiao fans, Cotto fans and fight fans in general can relax.

“I know that Manny is looking to make boxing history. I can appreciate that as he goes after the very tough Cotto for a seventh weight division world title,” Valcarcel said.

“You can tell all the people right now, the WBO title will be on the line. You’ve got a highly respected champion fighting the Number One contender. It would be ridiculous for this not to be for the title.

“No matter what happens, I assure you that this will be a WBO welterweight title fight. End of story.”

Yes, you can say, well Paco is a boxing politician. That much is true.

But, unlike many politicians, he has his finger on the pulse of the people.

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Who needs Floyd when you've got Nate Campbell?

Nate Campbell, who helped Tampa, Fla., police chase down a couple of suspected purse snatchers last month, stole the show Thursday.

Campbell knocked the mundane out of a conference call and talked Timothy Bradley into a freewheeling exchange, which is something the favored Bradley promises won't happen when they meet for the World Boxing Organization's version of the 140-pound title in a Showtime-televised bout on Aug. 1 at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Campbell livens up the proceedings. (Getty Images)

The junior welterweights were still talking -- or at least Campbell was -- when promoter Gary Shaw said goodbye to a long-distance preliminary that could get interesting at opening bell in a ring about 10 miles from where Bradley grew up in the California desert east of Los Angeles.

The entertaining give-and-take erupted just when the call seemed to be ending. That's when Campbell, who had said he was sick of talking about the fight, talked a lot, stirring up placid waters with a rhetorical lure that got the businesslike Bradley to drop his usual cool.

"I'm going to bust his ass," said Campbell, who went on to say a few more things, including "I'm going to take you to the abyss," and "I'm going to stop you."

Who needs Floyd Mayweather Jr. when Campbell is on the line?

Actually, Campbell's trash talk is a lot more likable than the variety delivered by Mayweather, who is defensive in the ring and out of it when confronted by a threat. In the irreverent tone of a Bernard Hopkins, Campbell seemed to be having some fun and it sounded as if even Bradley enjoyed at least some of it.

Bradley laughed when Campbell recounted a chase on June 26 when he and advisor Terry Trekas followed a couple of alleged purse snatchers from a Tampa supermarket to an apartment, where the suspects were eventually arrested.

"What if they had a pistol?" Bradley asked Campbell.

No problem, Campbell said. No hesitation either.

"I had one too," Campbell said.

Campbell's timing -- bada boom, bada bing -- was perfect. But whether the former lightweight champ will have all the right counters on Aug. 1 might simply be a question of too much time. Campbell, 37, is more than a decade older than the unbeaten Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs), who at 25 looked like he had the durability to be a star when he got up from two knockdowns to win a decision in April over Kendall Holt.

It's no surprise that Campbell dismisses the age issue, which he also has predictably turned into a source of personal motivation.

"I really don't understand why media people make all of these God-awful statements about my age," said Campbell, who said he didn't begin to pursue a fight career until he was 25. "Hey you know, fighters are fighting longer and better than ever these days."

On that one, at least, there was no counter from Bradley, who was at ringside in Cancun for Campbell's stunning split decision against Juan Diaz in March 2008.

"I couldn't believe it," Bradley said. "When I was sitting there in Cancun, I really just couldn't believe it. I actually lost money on it. What was it, five pesos? That's why I'm taking this fight. I want to fight the best."

Bradley went on to issue a warning of sorts. He told the conference-call audience and Campbell not to confuse him with Diaz, or at least the Diaz who showed up in Cancun on that fateful night.

"I'm not Juan Diaz," said Bradley, who argues he is more versatile. "I'm not one dimensional."

But it is Campbell who is convinced he has a superior mix of skills. It is a versatility, he suggests, acquired through experience that also has resulted in valuable frustration.

"I'm an angry guy when I realize over the last few years how people did me dirty in the fight game," said Campbell, who took the IBF, WBA and WBO 135-pound title in his victory over Diaz. "... I couldn't get fights. How in the world can I hold three lightweight titles and not get fights. Now, I just want to ruin the fighters they put in front of me."

Bradley sympathizes. Kind of.

"At 135, I thought he [Campbell] was the best," said Bradley, who says he was drawn out of his fight plan by a trash-talking Holt in a dangerous mistake that he says he won't repeat against Campbell. "Nate just didn't get a chance to fight Manny Pacquiao. Yeah, Manny Pacquiao is the best. He's the poster boy in this business. But now he's catching guys as they're getting weak, dropping down in weight."

Even if you subtract Pacquiao from the equation, Campbell and Bradley look around and all the way to the UK, where the World Boxing Association's newly minted light-welterweight champ Amir Khan completed a comeback from his September loss to Breidis Prescott with a decision over Adriy Kotelnik. In Kahn, they see another reason to wonder whether they aren't getting their share of respect, if not money. Khan rhymes with con, and Campbell will tell you they mean same thing, too.

"Is Khan spelled with a C?" Campbell asked. "He took that boy's [Kotelnik] lunch money."

Campbell figures he can take a lot more than just that. But be ready for a long lunch and a longer listen.

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For Pacquiao, the list has gotten really short

Jim Lampley once remarked during a fight, "Manny Pacquiao is a storm!"

That was years ago. Lampley nor anybody else knew just how devastating the Pacquiao storm would become in the following years. Here we are in 2009, and the former flyweight champion of the world currently sits on the 140-pound throne, has retired Oscar de la Hoya, been involved in two straight "Event of the Year" fights, demolished a game Ricky Hatton in under two rounds, and overall done things that would've been unthinkable even a few years ago.

On November 14, he'll go up to a 145-pound catchweight to try and capture Miguel Cotto's WBA welterweight title. I've said already that Cotto is a seriously dangerous opponent, no matter what anyone else might think, and he should be treated as such. A Pacquiao steamroll job would be jaw-dropping in this fight.

I also remarked at the end of the article that to some, it seems like all that would be acceptable is a time-traveling Pacquiao that battles Sugar Ray Robinson for all-time supremacy. In some ways, it's understandable that Pacquiao's opponents will be downplayed. There are precious few fighters that present a great danger to him these days. He's become that good. Sure, welterweight is legitimately the highest he could possibly go (I mean it has to be, right?), and bigger guys than that could have their way with him simply on size. I joked after the Hatton fight that if Pacquiao challenged 6'2" middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, I'd pick Manny. But realistically Pavlik would take his head off at some point (he'd have to, right?).

Manny has also given the impression that he won't be staying in boxing forever. He has political aspirations in the Philippines, is going to make another boat load of money to fight Cotto, and there are a lot of other things he can now do with his life. You never know until it's truly over, but Manny might not be here more than a few more fights.

There are good and even great challenges out there for him, though. Let's take a look at five guys that I think could give Manny a serious run for his money in the ring.

5. Edwin Valero

I'll say right now I'm not listing Juan Manuel Marquez among my five most dangerous Pacquiao opponents, and it's not because I don't think he's a better fighter than at least four of the guys on this list in a pound-for-pound sense. But Marquez is getting older and with the roll Pacquiao's on and the fact that it'd have to be at at least 140 pounds, I just don't think the matchup is good for JMM anymore. He's surprised me before, but I think the weight is bad for him against a younger, faster guy that has knocked him down four times in two fights at lower weights.

Valero (25-0, 25 KO) likely gets mowed down in five or so rounds by Pacquiao. That's my gut feeling. But Valero is 27 years old, a fellow southpaw, seriously hungry, and has wicked power. Nasty, one-shot, out on your ass and you don't know what happend-style power. A guy that hits like Valero can stop anyone within size reason, and he's taller than Pacquiao and has a two-inch reach advantage. He could probably handle 140 as a weight just as well as he has 130 and 135 so far. Valero, of course, wants the fight, and Top Rank has made some hints that they'd like to get it done in the future. Bob Arum promotes both men, so it'd be win-win and money all around for him, but it's not a superfight, and there's still the matter of licensing Valero anywhere in the U.S. that isn't Texas.

4. Miguel Cotto

Pacquiao's next opponent will get his chance to dethrone the P4P king, though it probably wouldn't make him the P4P king, so "dethrone" isn't really the right word -- he would more serve as a hitman for the Mayweather-Marquez winner to firmly move into the No. 1 slot.

I do understand a few of the concerns about Cotto and his alleged decline. He didn't attack the body against Clottey the way he's known to do, but I think he had the mindset going in that Clottey wasn't going to get hurt. Fighters know how hard they hit, and they know who's vulnerable to what. Clottey is an excellent defensive fighter and a tough son of a gun, and Cotto came out to box him. When he didn't have that same idea against Michael Jennings, he still attacked with righteous fury. I get the feeling he's not going to see Manny the way he did the bigger, physically stronger Clottey. I think Miguel's going to attack Pacquiao and test him out quickly.

And it's also worth saying that Cotto is a dirty fighter when he feels the need to be. If Pacquiao starts getting the best of him, Miguel is not above a low blow. I mean let's just call a spade a spade here. He takes momentum -- or stops it -- any way he has to. Some people find this despicable. I'm on the fence. It's something you have to take into account going into a fight with Cotto. He's a hot-headed, mean fighter.

The "iceman" Cotto, the guy that stared at Alfonso Gomez like he wanted to eat his liver, that guy can beat Pacquiao, and Pacquiao better believe it.

3. Shane Mosley

Shane Mosley may be older, but until he looks rough at 147 pounds, I see him as a serious problem for Manny Pacquiao or anyone else for that matter. His last two welterweight fights were a great, competitive loss to an on top of his game Cotto and a complete ass-whooping of Antonio Margarito. He doesn't look good at 154, not that he ever looked too great that high in weight, but at 147 he's still among the sport's elite.

Mosley's speed and intensity could be troublesome for Manny, and let's not forget that he's a full three inches taller than Pacquiao. That height did nothing for Oscar de la Hoya, but Oscar didn't look so great against veteran gatekeeper Steve Forbes months prior to that. It's not the same thing. It's not an excuse: Oscar was fairly shot, the weight killed him, and Pacquiao took him to the woodshed. It doesn't diminish what Pacquiao did to him. Freddie Roach said that's exactly what would happen: Oscar wouldn't be good at 147 and wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. That's why they took what was at the time a nearly unthinkable matchup.

Shane's a different beast. He's still got two loaded guns and he fires at will. I also think Manny's speed, his southpaw stance, and his ability to get in and out at tough angles make him very hard for Shane to handle, too. It's a great fight on paper.

2. Paul Williams

I'm kind of copping out putting Williams at No. 2, because of all the guys that could realistically get down to 147 or a couple pounds lower, Paul Williams is by far the hardest matchup for Manny. Williams is a freak of nature, a 6'1" guy that pumps his fists at a hellacious rate and has a longer reach than Vitali Klitschko.

Manny would have a long night ahead of him against "The Punisher." If he wanted to, Williams could fire off his jab and keep Manny at bay all night. It's never really been Williams' strength, even though it should be, but he's also a really good inside fighter for a guy with such massively long arms.

His workrate, stamina, and power at 147 are tough enough to top. When you factor in the gross physical advantages he'd have over Pacquiao (and just about anyone), it's easy to see why he bounces around divisions looking for the best fights. Nobody wants to fight this guy because he's such a unique challenge.

One of the bigger reasons I stuck him at No. 2 instead of No. 1 is that the fight is so unlikely he might as well not even be mentioned, but he deserves to be, so...whatever. I mean, it's not even a guarantee he could make welterweight anymore, even though he says he can.

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Of course. Of course.

Look, even if you "hate" Mayweather, it doesn't take a genius to see where he could give Manny trouble. Floyd is a master counter-puncher with extremely fast hands and pinpoint accuracy. He's not the biggest hitter in the world, but his power has become underrated. There is nobody close to Pacquiao or with a knowledge of style matchups that would say anything less than Floyd is conceivably the toughest fight of Manny Pacquiao's life. Pacquiao has beaten brawlers, boxers, and fighters of all styles, but he has never faced someone as slick and tricky as the "Pretty Boy."

What makes a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight so desirable is that style clash. Pacquiao is a better boxer than Mayweather would ever give him credit for, but he's not the sort of pure talent that Floyd is. Floyd's entire life has been boxing, and he's a rare talent. Thousands and thousands of men have stepped into pro rings over the years, and few of them have Mayweather's God-given gifts.

But what would he do with one of those Pacquiao charges? You can only avoid so much, only block so much, and Pacquiao also has a style that Mayweather has really never seen. I haven't gone as bananas about this fight as a lot of people have, and I'd still personally rather see Mosley-Pacquiao, and I like Cotto-Pacquiao better as far as the fight goes. But Pacquiao-Mayweather is such an important fight -- if both win this fall, anyway -- that it really should happen. I don't think it has to happen, and part of that is my reluctance to believe it ever really will. But that would be the most important fight in boxing in a long, long, long time, and for good reason.

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