By Mark Vester
WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is not bothered by the big talk of Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. In a recent interview with BoxingScene.com's Ronnie Nathanielsz, Roach said Pacquiao stood a chance of knocking Cotto out in the first round of their bout on November 14.
"I have never seen a fighter win with the talking of his trainer. So I want to tell Freddie Roach, Miguel Cotto and his team do not care. The important thing here is that I'm not going to see the face of Freddie Roach in the ring. I will be in there with Manny Pacquiao. He (Roach) can say anything, try anything, to draw attention and try to be the hero of this whole promotion. But on November 14 we will see who talks in the end, the ones who did all the talking or the ones who stayed silent" Cotto told El Nuevo Dia.
Cotto was also not bothered by the recent prediction of Fernando Vargas, who said Pacquiao would be too much for Cotto to handle.
"Who is Fernando Vargas right now in boxing? His time has passed and in this group there is no time to listen to his comments," Cotto said.
Cotto finally broke his silence on why sparring partner Frankie 'El Gato' Figueroa was sent packing from his camp. According to Cotto, Figueroa was not taking the camp serious and clowned around way too much. He also claimed Figueroa was more interested in showing off than making him work.
"In this group we work seriously. No one comes here to clown around in the ring. The sparring partner is here to help us and make us work, not to have a good time, putting their hands down and showing off their skills. There are two kinds of fighters, those who grow in sparring and that are grow in the fights. And 'El Gato' is the one who likes to grow in sparring," Cotto said.
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