LOS ANGELES (AFP) - – Miguel Cotto's handlers say they will carefully scrutinize the gloves and hand wraps of Manny Pacquiao before their World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.
Miguel Cotto Sr said Tuesday they blundered by not inspecting Antonio Margarito's gloves prior to Cotto's lone career loss in July of last year and vow never to let it happen again.
"We only commit the same error once," said Cotto Sr. "We will never make that mistake again."
The increased vigilance comes after Margarito was caught using "loaded wraps" in his following fight against Shane Mosley in January.
Unlike Cotto, Mosley's trainers entered Margarito's dressing room prior to the fight. There they noticed that a damp hard white powder had been placed in between the rows of wrapping and tape before Margarito put his gloves on for the fight.
It has never been proven that Margarito cheated by using a plaster of Paris type substance for the Cotto fight but suspicions are strong, especially in Cotto's camp and that's the reason for the stepped up inspections of opponents' gloves and wraps.
Cotto, of Puerto Rico, senses he has the public support on this one.
"A loss is a loss. Nobody knows for sure if he uses it with me, or not, just Margarito and his team," said Cotto, after a 90 minute workout at the Pound4Pound Gym in Beverly Hills Tuesday. "But it makes me feel better (about the loss). Boxing fans are knowledgeable. They are the judges."
A classic boxer in the true sense of the word, Cotto is 34-1 with 27 knockouts.
Cotto bristled Tuesday at suggestions by Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach that the first loss is one of the toughest for a previously unbeaten fighter to recover from.
Cotto denied that the loss to Margarito had any negative effect on his confidence in the ring.
"Why don't you ask Manny that question because he has had three losses I have just one," Cotto said.
"My commitment is with myself. In my last fight (Joshua Clottey) I could have stopped the fight (cuts) but I decided to stay in the ring because of my commitment to myself and my family."
"Sometimes when you lose you win. Since Margarito great things have come to my career.
"Where is Margarito right now and where is Miguel Cotto?"
Said Cotto Sr, "We have worked a lot with his mind and staying focused. Mentally he is a strong guy."
Roach is predicting that the November 14 fight at the MGM hotel and casino won't go the distance and that the favoured Pacquiao will knock Cotto out capture his seventh title in seven different weight classes.
"This is the problem," Cotto said. "Freddie Roach is not the guy who is going to climb into the ring. If he prepares Manny for just nine rounds then he has three more rounds.
"He (Roach) can say whatever he wants. One day he says the first round and the next day he says round seven. I'm preparing for 12 rounds and nobody is going to know what will happen until the night of the 14th."
Cotto said he is focusing on this 145-pound bout and doesn't listen to talk about Pacquiao (49-3-2, 27 KOs) possibly fighting Floyd Mayweather in a mega title fight if he beats Cotto.
"He can fight Mayweather as many times as he wants after I beat him," Cotto said.
Cotto respects Pacquiao for the way he has come from modest roots in the Philippines to become a world class boxer who is revered by Filipinos at home and abroad.
"He has earned everything he has," Cotto said. "Manny looked good against Oscar De La Hoya and (Ricky) Hatton. But I'm not Oscar or Hatton. Manny chose the right time to fight Oscar."
Cotto is looking forward to wrapping up training camp, heading to Las Vegas next week and says this is the biggest fight of his life.
"It is the most important fight of my career, but we'll have to see on the 14th if he is the toughest guy I have fought in my career," Cotto said.
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It is just fair for each camp to scrutinize each others wraps and gloves before the fight just to make sure everything is leveled come game time. Discovery of Antonio Margarito's loaded handwraps put into question Miguel Cotto's only loss in his entire career. Just in time for Shane Mosley but too late for Cotto. Just the same, Cotto's camp is wiser now and they can be certain that their prized fighter would be protected from such unfair disadvantage in the future.
Cotto still considers that loss a loss though but he's now less bitter about it. The coming fight will show how the two prepared for the fight and will answer questions whether Cotto retained his ferociousness and confidence or whether Pacquiao will be the first boxer to win 7 world titles.
Then the medical tests. I guess Manny Pacquiao should also make copies of his test results and shove it to Floyd Mayweather Senior's throat who months ago has been claiming based on his observation that Pacquiao could have been using steroids which makes him relentless inside the ring. I love seeing people especially the likes of Floyd Sr. wrong.
Raul B. Romilla
Miguel is a welterweight with a lot of power and fast hands. Miguel has to make his fight. I don’t think Pacquiao will exchange punches with Cotto, who will win by either decision or knockout. 
If I had to pick anybody in the world to fight Pacquiao, it would be Cotto. Cotto has the best chance of anybody to beat him (Pacquiao) because of his physical power and strong left hook. Although boxing and betting experts are bestowing their beliefs and bank accounts on a Manny Pacquiao victory over Miguel Cotto on Saturday November 14, Miguel Cotto believes differently and boxing history books tell a different story as there have been many a Puerto Rican fighter—from an island rich in producing infamous boxing champions—who have come in the underdog and walked away with the upset victory. Cotto looks to keep the tradition of these former Puerto Rican fighters alive by doing the same to Pacquiao when they meet in one of the most exciting boxing battles of the year..
March 30, 1965: Jose Torres KO 9 Willie Pastrano, MSG, NYC (Wins world light heavyweight title): Pastrano, a veteran of 82 fights, is dropped by Cus D'Amato protege and 1956 Olympic silver medalist Torres, 34-1-1, in the sixth round, and the fight is stopped between the ninth and 10th. Torres, 28, becomes an instant hero in NYC. Pastrano, 29, never fights again.
November 13, 1965: Carlos Ortiz W 15 Ismael Laguna, San Juan (Regains WBC lightweight title): Seven months earlier, Panamanian speed demon Laguna, 40-2-1, had taken the title from the 28-year-old Ortiz in Panama City. In the rematch, Ortiz, 45-5, stuns the world by negating Laguna's speed and reclaiming the title by unanimous decision. They would fight a rubber match in 1967, with Ortiz winning by unanimous decision in New York City.
March 6, 1976: Wilfred Benitez W 15 (split) Antonio Cervantes, San Juan (Wins WBA junior welterweight title): Puerto Rico's Benitez, 17, becomes the youngest world titlist in history (record still stands) by brilliantly outpointing consummate pro Cervantes, 30, who was making his 11th defense and engaging in his 86th fight. It can be argued that defensive genius Benitez, 26-0, never matched this performance despite going on to win world titles at two additional weights.
November 17, 1972: Esteban DeJesus W 10 Roberto Duran, MSG, NYC (non-title bout): In the first of what would be three epic battles, the 21-year-old DeJesus, 33-1, floors lightweight champion Duran, 31-0, with a left hook in round one and goes on to win a unanimous decision to the delight of the predominantly Puerto Rican crowd at the Garden. Duran would win the second and third bouts, both title fights, by kayo, and DeJesus would go on to win the WBC 135-pound title.
October 28, 1978: Wilfredo Gomez KO 5 Carlos Zarate, Hato Rey, PR (Retains WBC super bantamweight title): The 21-year-old super bantamweight champion Gomez, 21-0-1, shocks the boxing world by crushing Mexico's Zarate, the reigning bantamweight champion who is ranked in the top three on virtually all pound-for-pound lists. It is Gomez's sixth title defense. Zarate was favored because he entered the ring with a barely believable record of 52-0 with 51 kayos. Both fighters struggle to make weight, but Zarate needs four trips to the scale to reduce to 122, and is clearly weakened by the effort
September 26, 1986: Edwin Rosario KO 2 Livingstone Bramble, Miami Beach (Wins WBA lightweight title): After losing to Hector Camacho in June, Rosario, 28-2, is a significant underdog against the 26-year-old Bramble, 24-1-1, and in his prime after scoring wins over Ray Mancini (twice) and Tyrone Crawley. Rosario, 23, flaunts his crushing kayo power against a fighter with a defense that had been thought to be impenetrable. It is the start of Rosario's second reign as a 135-pound titlist.
September 18, 1999: Felix Trinidad W 12 Oscar De La Hoya, Las Vegas (Retains IBF welterweight title; Wins WBC welterweight title): In a hotly anticipated battle of unbeaten champions and icons, Trinidad and De La Hoya add a significant chapter to the history of Puerto Rico-Mexico (or Mexican-American) battles. The 26-year-old Trinidad, 35-0, rallies in the late rounds, forces De la Hoya to retreat and wins a controversial majority decision.
ABOUT PACQUIAO vs. COTTO
Promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions, MGM Grand and Tecate, FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO will take place Saturday, November 14 at the sold out MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, has won six world titles in as many different weight divisions ranging from 112 to 140 pounds. His performance in 2008 was described as “Henry Armstrongesque,” winning world titles at 130 and 135 pounds with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz, respectively, and knocking out and retiring Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds to complete the trifecta. This year, he picked up where he left off last year – winning another world title in a new weight division – by dealing defending junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton a one-punch second-round knockout on May 2.
Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico has sold more tickets to Madison Square Garden in this millennium than any other fighter. He has held a world title every year since 2004. Puerto Rico’s most exciting fighter, Cotto held the WBO junior welterweight crown from 2004-2006, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. He won his second welterweight title in February, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO welterweight champion. Notable scalps on Cotto’s belt include Sugar Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi and Demarcus Corley.
The Pacquiao vs. Cotto pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com.
HBO's® fast-moving reality series "24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto" returns with an all new episode on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The four-episode series chronicles the preparations and back stories of both fighters as they train for their November 14 pay-per-view showdown. Episodes one and two are available on HBO ON DEMAND®.
