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The potential match between Cotto and Manny is not far from happening. Manny’s promoter Bob Arum has informed the media on Wednesday that he had met with Cotto’s management representatives just recently, and is looking forward to get things ironed out. He is hoping to have the two fighters be paired on November 28 for a fight.

However, there would only be a few setbacks that might get in the way of arranging the fight. Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao wants the bout to take place at a catch weight. Cotto would also have to bring back his former self, because he does not seem to be the same fighter that he was, before his loss against Antonio Margarito. Besides that, Cotto is still nursing a bad cut over his left eye. Cotto’s cut would have to heal before the fight, and it would probably take a miracle for it to hold up in training camp for a bout against Manny Pacquiao in just five months.

Cotto will be in great trouble if his cut reopens in a fight against Pacquiao. He might as well surrender, because the blood might cover fifty percent of his vision. If Cotto will not give up, he might only take a beating from the quicker Filipino fighter. This will probably be Pacquiao’s greatest advantage against Cotto.

Right now, the weight could be the biggest issue. But the hero of the Philippines has not been intimidated by size lately, since he fought Oscar de la Hoya at 147 and Ricky Hatton at 140. He simply used his superior speed and punching ability to overcome any size advantages those two might have had. Roach believes that Pacquiao is unbeatable at 140 lb, and dragging the bigger boxers down should be to the advantage of the Filipino pound-for-pound champion.

Some critics are saying that Pacquiao’s sudden interest in Cotto is due to the fact that Manny can get a good payday fighting Cotto without the high risk of being beaten as he would against Mosley or Mayweather. They are saying that Pacquiao vs Cotto, because he is fresh from a fight and is still nursing some battle scars that he had acquired from Clottey and even from Margarito.

For sure this fight will still be a memorable one if it will come to reality. But for now, we will just have to wait for the decision of both camps.

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In the ring after Chavez Jr. win over Luciano Cuello, The promoter Bob Arum mentioned three possible next opponents for Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., namely Oscar De La Hoya, John Duddy and Manny Pacquiao. And Chavez Jr. does not mind who he fights next as long as the opponent has established a name in boxing.

Arum said that “There is John Duddy, There is Oscar De La Hoya if he continues to fight and there is third one which is a little different because of the size difference but it would be the biggest fight of the year, with Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Manny Pacquiao -  Mexico vs. Philippines,”

De La Hoya has long been hyped as one of the possible opponent of Chavez Jr. due to his father’s fight Chavez Sr., The much-awaited tussle will serve as a vengeance of the son on the boxer who defeated his father twice.

Although Chavez Jr. won unanimously over Cuello, only one of the three judges scored for the Mexican in a convincing fashion at 98-92, while the other two were more realistic of the outcome by having it 96-94 and 96-95. However Chavez Jr. remains undefeated while Cuello suffered the first loss of his pro career. The Tijuana crowd were expecting a knockout and boos were heard when the result of the fight was announced.

The crowd expected a better performance from the son of a boxing legend and a future Hall of Famer. Chavez Jr. has now a record of 39-0-1 with 29 KOs. He threw several punches to the head and body of Cuello who dropped to 23-1 with 9 KOs, who bled from his nose since the third round.

For the fans of the father and the son, they want the younger Chavez to do what Golden Boy had done to the elder Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs), beat him in his fading career. Payback is the name of the game.

But the Golden Boy is not an ordinary fighter and he is out to retire with a very convincing win to erase the trauma of the “Dream Match.” And a victory over the younger Chavez could very well be an exciting conclusion to de la Hoya’s golden boxing career.

It will be a great tune up fight for the Chavez Jr. and with him bringing the legendary name of his father plus de la Hoya’s marketing magnet, though it was diminished by his loss to Pacquiao, the “payback” could rake in enough pay-per-view sales.

Granting Chavez Jr, could successfully extract revenge on de la Hoya, he has to fight more quality opponents first before reaching an agreement to face the number one fighter pound-for-pound. Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Chavez Jr. considers the marketability of the fight and is a must before Pacquiao hangs up his gloves for good.

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“My dream was to come here to England and it has come true,” Pacquiao told the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph. “I also have the desire to take the light welterweight title, and it’s a big honor to be in another fight which the fans want to see.”

Manny Pacquiao will be after Hatton’s International Boxing Crown on the May 2 – “The East vs the West” slugfest. Having the winner of the said match the chance of being the light welterweight kingpin of the Ring Magazine.

“Every time I fight, I have to win because millions of Filipinos are hoping for victory,” said Pacquiao, who wore a suit. “Millions of people look to me to win. I have to go out and give everything.”

Hatton was more optimistic in front of his countrymen who naturally made up majority of the estimated 6,000 fans.

“On May 2, I’ll be the new pound-for-pound king,” Hatton vowed. “I’ve never been beaten at 10 stone (140 lb). This is my weight. This is where I do best. I promise all my fans I’ll win for Manchester!”

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Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao officially signed the contract Friday night for his most-anticipated battle against England’s most famous boxer, Ricky Hatton.

Pacquiao confirmed the news to ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where he fetched his wife, Jinky, and fourth child, Baby Queenie, on Saturday morning.

Castillejo said that according to Pacquiao, the contract has been passed on to Bob Arum of Top Rank. The contract was expected to reach England on Saturday.

Castillejo also reported over radio dzMM that the latest agreement was to hold the action packed face-off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2.

She said Pacquiao will train for eight weeks for the big fight starting March. Before the rigorous training in the United States, she said Pacquiao and Hatton will hold separate press conferences in February in England and US.

According to Castillejo, Pacquiao will train harder for the equally aggressive Hatton. She said Pacquiao told her that he would have to watch out for Hatton’s deadly left hook.

Pacquiao will be entering a new territory when he faces Hatton, who is considered the king of the 140-lbs division. He will have to go down to Hatton’s turf from 147 lbs.

Pacquiao was the first Filipino to win in three divisions in a single year. He defeated Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez at 130 lbs and then David Diaz at 135 lbs.

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Two of boxing’s biggest stars will meet in the ring in what could be the year’s biggest pay-per-view event. Five-division world champion MANNY “Pac Man” PACQUIAO and Ring Magazine and IBO World Junior Welterweight champion RICKY “The Hitman” HATTON will rumble for Hatton’s World Junior Welterweight Championships Saturday, May 2 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. These two boxing artists will have a 20 x 20 foot canvas to paint a black and blue masterpiece that the world has been waiting to see. Pacquiao and Hatton boast a combined record of 93-4-2 (68 KOs), a winning percentage of 94% and a victory by knockout ratio of 73%.

Pacquiao vs. Hatton, a 12-round bout for Hatton’s Ring Magazine and IBO World Junior Welterweight titles, is promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions in association with MP Promotions and Hatton Promotions.

Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) secured his claim as the 2008 Fighter of the Year, a year reminiscent of what Hall of Fame fighter Henry Armstrong did in 1937-1938, winning three fights in three different weight divisions, two of which were world titles. Armstrong is the only man to hold three world championships simultaneously, capturing world titles at featherweight, welterweight and lightweight (in that order) during a nine-month span between November 1937 and August 1938. Pacquiao, officially proclaimed a National Treasure by the Philippines, captured the WBC World Super Featherweight title last March by defeating Juan Manuel Marquez and the WBC World Lightweight title in June by knocking out defending champion David Diaz. He completed his personal trifecta by stopping Oscar de la Hoya in a welterweight battle on December 6. Pacquiao’s last two victories were in his debut fight in each weight division with the latter fight being two full divisions above his previous fight. Pacquiao, 30, has won 24 of his last 25 bouts, blitzing through boxing’s best fighters since 2003 including Erik Morales (TKO 10, KO 3,), Marco Antonio Barrera (TKO 11, W 12), Marquez (D 12, W 12,), Diaz (TKO 9) and De La Hoya (KO 8). Pacquiao was previously named the 2006 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America andRing Magazine.

The storied career of Hatton (45-1, 32 KOs), an international superstar hailing from Manchester, England, began in 1997 and for the last 12 years he has been thrilling fight fans around the world with his aggressive style in the ring and down to earth attitude outside of the ring. Owner of victories over world champions Kostya Tszyu, Vince Phillips, Paulie Malignaggi, Luis Collazo, Jose Luis Castillo, Juan Urango and Carlos Maussa, Hatton is a two division world champion. He fell short of the pound-for-pound best fighter title and world welterweight championships in his 2007 super-fight against Floyd Mayweather. However, the 30-year-old bounced back impressively at his natural weight of 140 pounds last May when he scored a near shutout 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano. His most recent fight was a scintillating shutout performance against world champion Malignaggi last November, ending with an 11th round TKO for “The Hitman”. Hatton was honored as the 2005 Fighter of the Year by Ring Magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

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