By Ronnie Nathanielsz
TRAINER Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao to wait for the outcome of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight set for July 18 and then take on the winner.
Conditioning expert Alex Ariza told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Pacquiao has nothing to gain by fighting Miguel Cotto, who is also handled by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Arum said Pacquiao would be at Madison Square Garden to watch Cotto’s welterweight title fight against World Boxing Organization/International Boxing Federation champion Joshua Clottey and probably make up his mind on whether to face Cotto. Arum also dropped the name of World Boxing Council lightweight champion Edwin Valero, who mauled aging Antonio Pitalua to win the 135-pound belt relinquished by Pacquiao.
“Roach doesn’t like Manny to fight Cotto or Valero, but it’s up to Manny although I think Freddie is pushing for Mayweather Jr.,” Ariza said. “There is nothing to gain fighting Cotto.”
Ariza said he agreed with the suggestion advanced by Gerry Peñalosa’s manager Billy Keane, who is also close to Pacquiao, that the most logical thing would be to wait for the winner of the Mayweather-Marquez fight, which most people believe the former pound-for-pound no. 1 boxer would win. “It’s because that will also bring the most money for Manny.”
With a consensus building up against a possible Cotto fight, Ariza said it wasn’t a question of being too concerned about fighting the Puerto Rican. “Cotto hasn’t been the best at 140 pounds but still there’s nothing there for him [Pacquiao]. Waiting for Mayweather-Marquez will also help,” said Ariza, pointing out that if the fight doesn’t do big pay-per-view numbers, “it will give Manny more bargaining power to get a bigger piece of the pie.”
Arum himself had earlier told Standard Today that Pacquiao is on top of the world and in a position to dictate terms and that from his own point of view, the maximum Mayweather Jr. can get in terms of a revenue split for a Pacquiao fight would be 35 percent, with 65 percent going to Pacquiao. “Come on. Manny is the draw.”
Keane also told Standard Today earlier Wednesday: “I don’t know why he [Pacquiao] will fight Cotto. If you’ve got a big fight, if you’ve got a super fight, you take it. That’s Floyd Mayweather. He is not going to make any more money.”
