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WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto spoke with the media about his upcoming title defense against Manny Pacquiao on November 14.
Question: What do you think about the history of Puerto Rican boxers and how you fit in?
Miguel Cotto: Puerto Rico has a good boxing tradition with Wilfredo Gomez and Benitez, Carlos Ortiz and Felix Trinidad. People in Puerto Rico are very interested in boxing. I am very happy and very proud to be a part of this Puerto Rican history. First of all, I have to make good work of Manny Pacquiao on the 14th and then I have to go back to Puerto Rico. I don’t know how the people are going to receive me there, but I hope it is going to be good.
Q: If you win, where do you think that would put you in the heart of the Puerto Rican fans?
MC: Like I said before, I am going to be wherever the fans put me. I am never going to claim something that the people won’t give me or where they want to put me. Wherever they are going to put Miguel Cotto, I am going to be happy.
Q: Pacquiao’s trainer has been talking a lot about knocking you out in the first round; did you hear about that?
MC: Forget about Freddie Roach. The only thing Freddie can do is train Manny. He can’t go over the ropes and into the ring to fight against Miguel Cotto. He can only train Manny the best he can. He may say and think Manny will knock me out but at the end of the day, it is just Manny and Miguel Cotto in the ring. No matter what kind of things Freddie Roach says before the fight…I have a very strong mind. The psyche game? I’m not going to follow that game.
Q: What kind of accomplishment do you think it is to win seven titles is seven weight divisions?
MC: I can only try to reach the goals I have in boxing. 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.
Q: Where do you think you are now compared to pre-Margarito fight?
MC: That is the problem here in sports. Wherever you stand, there are ten or twenty people that know about boxing. I am not going to go to a doctor and tell him how to do his work. He knows how to do his work and I know how to do my work. I am pretty recovered from the Margarito defeat. I showed the world with my last two victories and I don’t have anything else to say about that.
Q: What did you learn in the Clottey fight?
MC: If you ever saw somebody who fought with a huge cut over his eye and had to deal with the cut and an opponent in front of him and win the fight – it is all the things I had to deal with. I had a huge cut over my eye, a strong opponent in front of me and I was the winner of the fight. I learned how to deal with huge problems in a title fight.
Q: Are you ready to surprise the world by dealing with the speed of Pacquiao?
MC: You know what? That’s why we prepare ourselves. He’s a fast fighter. We know he has speed. We know he has a style and we are prepared to beat it. You’ll find out on the 14th how I am going to deal with his speed. It’s not going to be a factor even though everyone thinks it is.
Q: Oscar couldn’t fight at the lower weight as well as he thought.
MC: The last fight I spent more than 24 hours doing nothing. Just waiting for the weigh-in. My weight was 145. All I have to do is add a half hour to my work every day and I am going to reach 145 with no problem.
Q: Do you think Manny is too small to beat you?
MC: He is coming from a lower weight division and if he thinks he is going to have the same power as Miguel Cotto, his thinking is very wrong.
Q: Do you think a Mayweather fight would complete your career?
MC: You never can push someone to face you. My career has to continue no matter who wants to fight or not to fight Miguel Cotto. I am here for the big names and ready for the hot opponents. That’s what boxing needs for the guys at the top to fight other guys at the top, like it was 20 years ago. Make the fights that fans want to watch. I am here for any boxer that wants to fight Miguel Cotto. They have to start with my company and I am more than ready to fight the biggest names in boxing.
