Roach wants Cotto down to 143 pounds for Pacquiao fight

The Miguel Cotto-Manny Pacquiao fight tentatively scheduled for November 14 is coming along nicely:

"We have a number of points we are talking through, but nothing that's deal-breaking," Arum said. "Everything looks great."

One of the key points -- besides the financial breakdown, of course -- is the weight. Arum said that Cotto is willing to come below 147 pounds and that the contract maximum would wind up at 144 or 145. Stay tuned on that.

There is some minor concern that the brutal cut Cotto suffered over his left eye against Clottey could delay the fight, but Arum said it would be OK. Cotto needed 20 stitches in two cuts but said that the doctor said he should be good to spar around the end of September.

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Arum said part of the discussion with HBO was the production of a "24/7" series for Cotto-Pacquiao. "That would be part of our deal," Arum said.

Meanwhile, news out of the Philippines today is that Freddie Roach wants Cotto to come all the way down to 143, and in fact, the direct quote from Roach is, "The lower I can get (Cotto), the better."

This indicates that Roach believes Cotto to be a genuinely dangerous fight for Pacquiao, and he says that those who think Pacquiao will demolish Cotto the way he did Oscar and Hatton are "not so bright." We know Freddie isn't shy about making Manny sound like an earth-mover, so this seems like legit concern, and there should be some. I don't like the fight for Cotto at 143 pounds, but all I really mean by that is I don't like his chances. I fear he'd be way drained, making the fight easy for Pacquiao.