Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao have trained not to circle towards Miguel Cotto's left. Pacquiao's first loss to Erik Morales would be a replay on Nov. 14 - Cotto's best weapon is a powerful left jab and left hook. If Pacquiao attacks with his right hook, he would be open for a crushing blow to the body. This is Cotto's best shot for a victory. (photo source unknown)
- Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao have trained not to circle towards Miguel Cotto's left. Pacquiao's first loss to Erik Morales would be a replay on Nov. 14 - Cotto's best weapon is a powerful left jab and left hook. If Pacquiao attacks with his right hook, he would be open for a crushing blow to the body. This is Cotto's best shot for a victory. (photo source unknown)
- Even though Manny landed this right hook to the body, this is not the proper game plan for Cotto. The Puerto Rican's left hand is his lead (front) hand. That leaves the Filipino open to a knockout via blow to the head by way of a left hook, left cross, or even snap left jab. Cotto knocked down the big Joshua Clottey with an impressive left jab early in the fight. (photo source unknown)
- Another example of what Roach will not have Pacquiao do (2nd Barrera fight). Pacquiao will not step to his right and thus circle to Cotto's left. That would be walking straight into Cotto's bazooka. (pound4pound.com)
- Another example of what Roach will not have Pacquiao do is trade blows with Cotto - not early in the fight. (Hector Velasquez fight). Roach will only give the signal for a finishing combo is Cotto is clearly staggered and hurt. Otherwise, Manny will stay away from the bigger fighter and win points on the judges' scorecards. (photo, unknown source)
- In war, deception is a strategy. Sun Tzu advocates it. Roach's declaration of a 1st round KO is a deception. His talk of Pacquiao attacking early is smokes and mirrors - another deception. Pacquiao will be cautious early against the bigger fighter, and will use footwork to move back and circle to his (Pacquiao's) left. Cotto is vulnerable on his weak (right) side. Cotto will need to catch up. Manny's gloves will stay up. (NY Times)
- Pacquiao has to fight in the middle of the ring. If he finds himself trapped, he will have to swiftly move away from Cotto's vaulted left. Throughout the night, Pacquiao has to jump fast to his left and escape Cotto's strong (left) side. That works in Manny's favor. 1. He is quicker than Cotto. 2. Manny's escape route is also his attack (left) route where his power punch is located. (NY Times)
- Manny's right hand will clearly be his defensive block for this fight. The right hand will need to stay up, and if Pacquiao cannot keep up with Cotto, he has to jump left. His left power hand has the biggest advantage over Cotto's right. Roach wants it to be Manny's left vs. Cotto's right. That could cause an early KO. Miguel will try to prevent this. (Tyler Streeter)
- Again, Pacquiao's left vs. Cotto's right is the ideal situation for Roach. Pacquiao's right vs. Cotto's left is very risky. That strategy would be reckless for a smaller fighter. (pound4pound.com)
- Toward the middle rounds (rounds 5 - 7), look for Roach and Pacquiao to see if Cotto is slowing down. If he is, Cotto will clamp down like a seashell. When he does that though, Cotto is vulnerable to uppercuts. Cotto likes his gloves touching his temples on the side of the forehead. The slightly shorter Manny has free shots up the middle. But Cotto can also deceive Manny so he can unleash his left hook. (Reuters)
- Pacquiao's left vs. Cotto's right. The movement associated with this strategy creates the most distance and separation away from Cotto's explosive left. It's a matter of geometry and physics. Pacquiao's left, however, has the shortest distance to Cotto's weak (right) side. Roach will prioritize the weak side. (Unknown photo source)
- Toward the middle rounds (rounds 5 - 7), if Cotto gets staggered, he will show openings straight in the middle. If Cotto gets hurt, Manny will have straight shots up the middle. (EA Sports)
- If Cotto slows down in the middle rounds, he will be vulnerable to upper cuts. Roach won't give Manny the green signal until Cotto is clearly hurt. Otherwise, Cotto could be laying a trap for Manny. It only takes ONE or TWO lefts from Cotto to put Manny in serious trouble or to be possibly TKO'd. (EA Sports)
- Pacquiao will try to create distance early in the fight to keep the bigger Cotto away. (EA Sports)
- Pacquiao's gloves will need to stay up to block Cotto's jabs. Especially his right hand. (EA Sports)
- Cotto is a left-handed fighter but his stance has his left hand as the lead (front) hand. Manny's right is his lead (front) hand. Thus, Cotto's jab is dangerous because of the shorter distance needed to travel in order to land flush. (EA Sports)
- Pacquiao cannot afford to lunge forward, especially early on. Or Cotto will make him into Ricky Hatton. (EA Sports)
- Cotto's fast left jab is also powerful. He knocked down Joshua Clottey with it. Manny has to block this punch or he could get in trouble. (EA Sports)
- Cotto's left hook is his best punch. Manny has to block this with his defensive right hand. (EA Sports)
- Manny will move to his left, and circle Cotto on Cotto's right side. Clottey did not do this in this instance and paid the price. Cotto's left is his best weapon. (EA Sports)
- Pacquiao cannot trade blows with Cotto early. Cotto is the bigger fighter. Roach and Manny will work to win the first 4 rounds on points and on the scorecard. If that happens, Cotto would have to win the next 6 out of 8 rounds just to score a draw (assuming no knockdowns or points taken away). (EA Sports)
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