COTTO HAPPY WITH WEIGHT DEAL

Miguel Cotto believes fighting Manny Pacquiao at 145lbs is to his advantage and not the Filipino's.

The pair meet in Las Vegas on Saturday night for Cotto's WBO welterweight title, but with Pacquiao more used to fighting in lower divisions, the fight has been made at a catchweight of 145lbs - 2lbs below the regular welter limit.

However, Cotto says shedding an extra two pounds will not be a problem for him and that his power at the weight is likely to prove crucial to the outcome.

Asked about the issue, Cotto said: "When we took this fight we decided that we were fine with 145. We knew we could do it and we knew we would be at our best the next night.

"We would not have taken this fight if we didn't think I was going to be at my best the next night after the weigh-in.

"The last fight I spent more than 24 hours doing nothing. Just waiting for the weigh-in. My weight was 145. All I have to do is add a half hour to my work every day and I am going to reach 145 with no problem."

Pacquiao has produced some explosive knockouts during his career, arguably none more spectacular than his dismissal of Ricky Hatton inside two rounds in his last outing in May.

That contest was staged at light-welterweight though and Cotto says the step up will not favour the 'Pac Man'.

He said: "He is coming from a lower weight division and if he thinks he is going to have the same power as Miguel Cotto, his thinking is very wrong."

The naturally lighter Pacquiao is likely to use his speed in a bid to counter Cotto, but the Puerto Rican says he's worked on combating that aspect of his opponent's style.

"I am prepared for anything he can bring me that night," Cotto added. "He has a lot of things beside his speed. I have to be prepared for all he can show me.

"We know he has speed. We know he has a style and we are prepared to beat it. You'll find out on the 14th how I am going to deal with his speed. It's not going to be a factor even though everyone thinks it is."

Source: http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=boxing/09/11/08/manual_233741.html