Mayweather Sr. says Pacquiao will beat Cotto

It’s one of the rare instances when outspoken trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. takes the side of Manny Pacquiao, rival of his son Floyd Jr. for the mythical pound-for-pound title and pupil of his nemesis Freddie Roach. In an interview with Doghouseboxing.com, Mayweather Sr. said WBO welterweight champion Cotto will be destroyed by the Filipino superstar when they duke it out on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas. “He (Cotto) will lose that fight because he took a beating from Margarito and Clottey," Mayweather Sr. told Doghouseboxing.com’s David Tyler. He was referring to tough welterweights Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey, who both engaged Cotto in previous bloody fights. Margarito bloodied Cotto’s nose during their 2008 title showdown in Las Vegas with the Puerto Rican’s corner forced to throw in the towel in the 11th round. Clottey also fought Cotto fiercely, opening a severe laceration over his left eye after an accidental head clash in their June 2009 bout. “Look for Pacquiao to open up that bad cut he (Cotto) got from Clottey. Cotto just moves straight ahead and that’s the only type fighter that Pacquiao will fight," Mayweather Sr. said.

But of course, Floyd Sr. is still not totally sold on the prowess of Pacquiao, whom he continued to dismiss as best P4P in the world. He said the Filipino superstar could not handle foes with exceptional boxing skills, as exemplified by his first outing with Erik Morales which ended up with a victory for “El Terible." “He (Pacquiao) can’t fight someone with boxing skills. Morales showed you how to beat him in their first fight; the right hand did the trick," he said, adding Juan Manuel Marquez also showed this in their two encounters. Last May, Mayweather Sr. got his shot at Pacquiao when he trained Ricky Hatton but the 30-year-old pride of General Santos City knocked his ward out inside two rounds. He maintained it was a matter of Hatton deviating from their fight plan which was meant to neutralize Pacquiao’s speed advantage. “Speed is nothing if you can’t find something to hit. You counter that speed with constant movement, make him come to you, turn him so he is always lunging when he throws the left. That’s how to beat Pacquiao and that’s exactly what I told Ricky Hatton during training camp. We worked on that a lot but Ricky didn’t follow my advice," he said. “Ricky lost the fight because he went out in the second round and stood right in front of a fighter who had more speed not necessarily more power. He didn’t move and jab and have Pacquiao chase him around the ring. That’s what I told him to do but can I help it if he chooses different? No way was any of that my fault," he added. - GMANews.TV