Manny Pacquiao: "The Miguel Cotto Fight is 80% Done"

By Mark Vester

According to Manny Pacquiao, his proposed fight with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is 80% done. The fight will take place on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“(The fight is) eighty percent (done),” said Pacquiao to the Manila Bulletin.

Pacquiao is heading out to Los Angeles for a photo shoot with Kobe Bryant for a sports apparel company. Pacquiao told the paper that he will try to get a lower-catchweight, somewhere in the range of 142-143, but that is not likely to happen. Cotto has said several times that he will not consider going under 145-pounds. The negotiations for the fight are running smoothly, according to Manny. He recently tried to get an earlier date for the fight, in October. The date request was denied to scheduling conflicts with the television networks and the venue.

A deal for the fight is very close. Top Rank's Bob Arum has already lined up the press tour, with stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and even Mexico City.

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