Manny Pacquiao, left, and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto pose during the weigh-in for their bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday in Las Vegas. (Al Bello/Getty Images)Manny Pacquiao weighed in at 144 pounds, his heaviest ever, while Miguel Cotto came in at the contract limit of 145 pounds for their scheduled 12-round fight.
A raucous crowd of about 7,000, some of whom had been waiting for hours, was on hand Friday at the MGM Grand to see both fighters make weight for the bout.
Pacquiao, who began boxing at 105 pounds, weighed two pounds more than the 142 he weighed last year when he stopped Oscar De La Hoya. He was 138 pounds for his last fight, a second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton.
Cotto was the lightest he has been since weighing 145 pounds when he defeated Zab Judah two years ago.
The fight has the potential to be one of the most entertaining of recent big bouts, if only because Pacquiao fights in a frenetic style and Cotto loves nothing better than to move forward while throwing a relentless swarm of punches.
But there are still questions about Pacquiao's chin against a bigger fighter as well as how much Cotto has recovered from the beating he took last year at the hands of Antonio Margarito.
Oddsmakers make Pacquiao a 2½-1 favourite partly because the betting public is going by his last two performances and partly because he seems to have accomplished the hardest task in boxing — bringing both his speed punch with him as he moved up in weight in a pro career that began at 105 pounds.
"We believe we have an advantage in speed and in power, too," Pacquiao said. "My speed is still there and if you have speed you can create power."
Hatton found that out when he was on the receiving end of Pacquiao's left hook, his best punch. But Roach has helped Pacquiao develop a decent right hand in the last few years, too, so opponents can no longer look for just one punch.
The fight plan is simple for Pacquiao: Take command early and don't give Cotto a chance to build his confidence.
"If we let him win the first few rounds he'll begin to think he can fight with Manny," Roach said. "My job is not to let that happen."
Cotto's left hook is his best weapon, too, and until Margarito — with the possible help of some suspect hand wraps — stopped him in the 11th round last year, Cotto was a rising star himself. Cotto struggled in his last fight to win a bloody split decision over Joshua Clottey and Roach, for one, believes he has slowed and is no longer the same fighter he once was.
Cotto will make just half of Pacquiao's $13 million US guarantee for this fight. He will also have to deal with having a new and untested trainer in his corner and the possibility that his cut against Clottey will be reopened in this fight. The crowd also figures to be against him.
"It's just a fight," Cotto said. "I'm not mad that people want me to win this fight or not. If he thinks he is going to win seven titles in seven weight divisions now, he has picked the wrong moment, the wrong fighter and the wrong opponent. If he thinks he is going to win the seventh title against Miguel Cotto, he is very wrong."
