Landman Witnessed Cotto's Slow Rise Back To The Top

By Jhonny Gonzalez

The conditioning coach of Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30KOs), Phil Landman, witnessed the boxer's slow rise back to the top. Landman, a member of team Cotto since 2006, watched the boxer's fast rise, quick fall, and saw him once again fight his way back to the top. On May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Cotto faces the biggest test of his career, when he defends the WBA junior middleweight title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26KOs).

"Miguel went through a lot in a short period of time. The loss to Antonio Margarito affected him deeply. Mentally, he was destroyed and it took a while to recover. Then he lost his fight against Manny Pacquiao and his father died a few months later," said Landman to Carlos Gonzalez.

"The accumulation of all these situations between 2008 and 2010 was too much for him, but now he is mentally calm and its been noted in the preparation he is doing every day. Miguel has always been a tireless worker. His work ethic is always the same, only now he is more excited, more motivated and this has been the most dramatic change."