Cotto now picks Pacquiao to win over Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – After electing not to make a prediction regarding the long-awaited bout between this generation’s two decorated boxers, Miguel Cotto is now favoring Manny Pacquiao to win over Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Cotto initially chose not to offer a fearless forecast on the heavily-hyped ring encounter, which takes place at the 16,800-seater MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 2 (May 3 in PH).

However, the 34-year-old Puerto Rican had a change of tone by giving Pacquiao his nod to take home the victory.

“I’m going for Manny,” Cotto said in an interview with New York Post.

Cotto is no stranger to Pacquiao and Mayweather as he faced both men in the squared-circle at the height of their physical prime.

The current WBC middleweight titleholder was routed by Pacquiao via twelfth-round stoppage in November 2009, while he dropped a unanimous decision to Mayweather in May 2012.

One of the reasons why Cotto is picking the Filipino southpaw to beat the unbeaten American boxer is because of Freddie Roach, whom he tapped to be his head trainer following his disappointing defeat to Austin Trout in December 2012.

Since acquiring the services of Roach, Cotto has won two matches in a row, stopping Delvin Rodriguez in October 2013 before claiming the middleweight crown from Sergio Martinez eight months later.

Cotto labeled the seven-time BWAA “Trainer of the Year” recipient as Pacquiao’s secret weapon in the super-fight and credited him for why boxing’s only eight-division world champion has been successful in the sport.

“After working with Freddie, I think Freddie is going to be huge in the fight,” he quipped.

Cotto officially signed a promotional contract with music mogul Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports this week, leaving Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions once again.

The 5-foot-7 slugger from Caguas, Puerto Rico is eyeing to defend his WBC middleweight belt on June 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I’m in the final stage of my career and I want to finish my career in the best way possible. This is going to be a new challenge for me and we want to do it with Roc Nation,” Cotto stated.

The opponent has not yet been determined, but the name of junior middleweight titleholder Cornelius Bundrage has been floated around as a leading candidate for Cotto’s next bout. – Rappler.com