The popularity of “Super Bouts” has prompted boxing promoters to line up another stellar card when Manny Pacquiao faces Miguel Cotto on November 14.

Top Rank Promotions announced earlier this week that the two heavy-handed fighters will meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a 145-pound, non-title war that promises fireworks based on the fighters’ reputations.

With that announcement, oddsmakers in both Las Vegas and offshore have crunched the numbers and released odds for the anticipated meeting. The fight opened with Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) priced as a -215 favorite while Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) was released at +175.

Renowned boxing linesmaker Joey Oddessa says the price on Pacquiao has everything to do with his body of work over the past four years. Since losing to Erik Morales in March 2005, the Filipino featherweight has been moving up in weight and not only defeating, but knocking out champions.

He’s avenged his loss to Morales twice and recently destroyed David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton at lightweight. He sits at the top of the fictitious pound-for-pound rankings and holds the Ring Magazine light welterweight title.
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Source: www.covers.com
By: COVERS.com STAFF

This week's official announcement of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight scheduled for November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas brings with it a wave of excitement for fight fans. The diminutive Pacquiao, boxing's acknowledged pound-for-pound king, will move north in weight once again to fight Cotto, the current WBO welterweight champ, at an agreed-upon catch-weight of 145 pounds.

Over the next four months, this match-up is certain to provoke a firestorm of debate among devoted followers of the sweet science. Both men are accomplished stars who inspire great passion in their fan base, and yet they have unanswered questions hanging over them at the moment—questions that will be settled once and for all when they fight in November.
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Source: www.hbo.com
By: Dave Larzelere

The contracts are unsigned although there is verbal agreement on a majority of the vital issues.
...
Cotto’s lawyer, Gabriel Penagaricano Jr., has informed both Arum and WBO bossman Paco Valcarcel that Cotto has no desire to risk his belt against Pacman.



The WBO wants the title fight. Arum wants it, in large part because one of the major storylines for this fight is Pacquiao going for a title in an historic seventh weight class. And Pacquiao wants it, obviously.

Pacquiao is currently ranked as the No. 1 contender at welterweight by the WBO, which is shadier than all get-out considering he's fought once with a 147-pound limit in his entire career and it came against a guy who hadn't fought at 147 for the better part of a decade, plus Pacquiao's last fight was at 140, where he's the world champion now. The ranking isn't excusable and there's no logic behind it. It's typical sanctioning body B.S.
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Source: www.badlefthook.com/
By: SC

In other sports such as football or baseball, fans know what months are big. October is MLB’s playoff season, and the Super Bowl happens every February.

Boxing fans have a bit of a revolving door.


Hagler-Hearns was in April, Duran-Leonard was in June, then again in November.

Most sports fans can mark the calendar, but boxing fanatics have to endure rumors, failed contract negotiations and less-than-stellar matchups before a Super Bowl-type fight comes along. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, boxing is like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're gonna get.

Well, in the case of the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight, I know what we’re gonna get -- a great fight. So if you aren't a boxing fan, at least be happy for those of us that are. (A chest bump when you see me would be nice.)

Now we have the date and the fight we wanted -- something big to look forward to, hype up and toil over the outcome.
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Source: www.nesn.com
By: Bryan Brennan

Much has been made about the two warriors at the center of this epic battle, yet few have taken note of the fact that this showdown in many ways remains an incomplete agenda.

In Manny Pacquiao's corner stands a man whose presence totally completes him.

For Miguel Cotto, the man who molded him into the product we see today stands a great distance away, separated by anger, humiliation, and a lawsuit rumored to be roughly $7.5M, which embodies everything from a fist fight to a broken window on Miguel's brand new vehicle.

The old adage has it that "blood is thicker than water", but when it's bad blood, it can in-fact be very thin, for there's a small line that separates the love and hate stored between the fighter and the man who's no longer in place to guide him.
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Source: www.examiner.com
By: Vivek Wallace