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Miguel Cotto is confident he can handle the move up to light-middleweight for Saturday's fight against WBA champion Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium.
Cotto (34-2, 27KOs), bidding to become a three-weight world champion, is looking to bounce back to winning ways after being stopped in the 12th round by Manny Pacquiao last November.
And with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner for the first time, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican is in upbeat mood.
"I'll be better than ever," Cotto said before the final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.
"I can eat more but also I feel more comfortable.
"I'm working with more energy, more passion for the work at the gym, doing everything for the whole time.
"It is the same when I jumped from 140 (pounds) to 147 and now to 154. We worked pretty good with the strength and I feel more than good. There are no worries."
Impressed
Steward, who can count Thomas Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis among his former world champions at the Kronk Gym in Detroit, as well as current heavyweight belt holder Wladimir Klitschko, said he had been impressed with Cotto's attitude as well as his new fighting weight during their training camp in Tampa, Florida.
"I have never trained Miguel before but all I can go by are the comments from the people in the gym since we are training in the exact same gym where he trained for the Pacquiao fight," Steward said.
"The people that are watching say he looks totally different from what they have seen before.
"His balance and movements and combinations are better so I can't say too far beyond that."
As for Cotto's move up to light middleweight, Steward added: "Miguel's boxing and energy level have been fantastic.
"His weight is a normal weight. He is finishing up his boxing, after 10 or 12 rounds, having never been exhausted in a very hot gym and his weight has been staying around 159.
"That means without any extra effort he could fight at 154 or 147. He looks wonderful.
"You could see that Juan Manuel Marquez, who was training for Floyd Mayweather (last summer), you could see the weight was very squeezed into a small frame.
"Miguel doesn't look that way. He looks very normal. In fact, I think '54 would be even better than 147. His best weight is 150 or 151 so he could fight in either weight division.
"He looks very comfortable and very natural and hasn't done anything to try to keep the weight up or weight down and he'll come in at 154."
Police escort
Israel's first world champion Foreman, 29 and with a 28-0 (8 KOs) record, will be making his first title defence since defeating Daniel Santos on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard in Las Vegas.
Studying to become a rabbi, the Belarus-born boxer's adherence to Orthodox ******* will mean the fight does not get underway at Yankee Stadium until 11.15pm local time as he is forbidden to travel before Sabbath ends at sunset on Saturday night.
Foreman will wait until around 9.15pm before being driven from his Manhattan hotel to the Bronx stadium under police escort.
"This is a great opportunity to fight at Yankee Stadium and I'm looking forward to it," Foreman said
"I'm ready and my journey to Yankee Stadium is going to be exciting with a police escort from the NYPD.
"It's going to be cool."
Cotto (34-2, 27KOs), bidding to become a three-weight world champion, is looking to bounce back to winning ways after being stopped in the 12th round by Manny Pacquiao last November.
And with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner for the first time, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican is in upbeat mood.
"I'll be better than ever," Cotto said before the final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.
"I can eat more but also I feel more comfortable.
"I'm working with more energy, more passion for the work at the gym, doing everything for the whole time.
"It is the same when I jumped from 140 (pounds) to 147 and now to 154. We worked pretty good with the strength and I feel more than good. There are no worries."
Impressed
Steward, who can count Thomas Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis among his former world champions at the Kronk Gym in Detroit, as well as current heavyweight belt holder Wladimir Klitschko, said he had been impressed with Cotto's attitude as well as his new fighting weight during their training camp in Tampa, Florida.
"I have never trained Miguel before but all I can go by are the comments from the people in the gym since we are training in the exact same gym where he trained for the Pacquiao fight," Steward said.
"The people that are watching say he looks totally different from what they have seen before.
"His balance and movements and combinations are better so I can't say too far beyond that."
As for Cotto's move up to light middleweight, Steward added: "Miguel's boxing and energy level have been fantastic.
"His weight is a normal weight. He is finishing up his boxing, after 10 or 12 rounds, having never been exhausted in a very hot gym and his weight has been staying around 159.
"That means without any extra effort he could fight at 154 or 147. He looks wonderful.
"You could see that Juan Manuel Marquez, who was training for Floyd Mayweather (last summer), you could see the weight was very squeezed into a small frame.
"Miguel doesn't look that way. He looks very normal. In fact, I think '54 would be even better than 147. His best weight is 150 or 151 so he could fight in either weight division.
"He looks very comfortable and very natural and hasn't done anything to try to keep the weight up or weight down and he'll come in at 154."
Police escort
Israel's first world champion Foreman, 29 and with a 28-0 (8 KOs) record, will be making his first title defence since defeating Daniel Santos on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard in Las Vegas.
Studying to become a rabbi, the Belarus-born boxer's adherence to Orthodox ******* will mean the fight does not get underway at Yankee Stadium until 11.15pm local time as he is forbidden to travel before Sabbath ends at sunset on Saturday night.
Foreman will wait until around 9.15pm before being driven from his Manhattan hotel to the Bronx stadium under police escort.
"This is a great opportunity to fight at Yankee Stadium and I'm looking forward to it," Foreman said
"I'm ready and my journey to Yankee Stadium is going to be exciting with a police escort from the NYPD.
"It's going to be cool."
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