Roach Guarantees No Pacquiao-Cotto Rematch

By Keith Idec

There was a time when Miguel Cotto wanted nothing more than to get another shot at Manny Pacquiao.

Cotto claims boxing Pacquiao at a catch weight of 145 pounds was as much a factor as anything in the Puerto Rican icon losing by 12th-round technical knockout as anything. It appears now, though, that Cotto is at peace with losing to Pacquiao in their November 2009 welterweight title fight.

The 32-year-old Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) and his new trainer, Freddie Roach, both stated on a conference call Friday that a Pacquiao-Cotto rematch won’t happen. Roach, who also trains Pacquiao, went as far as to “guarantee” that Pacquiao-Cotto II won’t materialize.

“Manny and Miguel are very good friends now, at this point in their lives,” Roach said. “You know, Manny came to watch him work out [at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club]. Manny Pacquiao and Miguel, they’ve had their fight. It’s over. Miguel’s a 54-pounder and Manny’s a 47-pounder. They’re friends right now and once Manny becomes a friend with somebody, he’ll never fight him. That’s just the way he is. And that’s why I can guarantee you they’ll never fight.”

Cotto’s comfortable at 154 pounds, the contracted weight at which he’ll battle Delvin Rodriguez (28-6-3, 16 KOs) on Oct. 5 in Orlando, Fla. Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs) is scheduled to box Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds Nov. 23 in Macau, China.

“I don’t look forward to fighting anyone at 147,” Cotto said. “I don’t think Manny’s looking to fight anyone at 154. I think we both have our own careers and that’s the way it’ll stay.”

The Rodriguez fight will be Cotto’s first with Roach in his corner. Roach has trained Pacquiao for more than a decade and the Filipino superstar has no issue sharing his head trainer with a former adversary.

“Manny called me up and asked me if he could come watch Miguel work out, at one of the early workouts here in the Wild Card,” Roach recalled. “I said, ‘Of course you can.’ And Manny came to watch him work out. They’re friends. They shook hands. Manny and him will never fight each other. I guarantee you that.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.