By Lou Block
As the 2nd episode of HBO 24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto finished up, it is evident that Manny Pacquiao is not focused and enjoying his life as a celebrity more than being a boxer. Miguel on the other hand is focused, hungry, and a great family man.
When you get a glimpse of some of Manny Pacquiao’s training and sparring you can see his lack of focus. Last episode you could already see his unraveling by disobeying roach on training location. This episode you see him getting toyed with in sparring against Shawn Porter and Jose Luis Castillo, Pacquiao was getting beat up on the ropes and hit clean.
Roach had to scold Pacman for his lazy performance as the red faced Pacquiao could barely look in Freddie’s eyes out of shame.
Another moment when you see Manny act out of character was when he is doing his conditioning training with Alex Ariza, Manny tells Ariza “Shut the F— up Alex” and keeps using the curse word while laughing at him. The lack of respect for Ariza and Roach was captured by the HBO crew.
This came as a shock since Pacquiao is a devout Christian and rarely cursed before.
Miguel Cotto is a man on a mission. He has a close family and shows the class and dignity of a great legend like Joe Louis. Cotto’s love for his family brought a smile to my face and his focus to bring honor to his country of Puerto Rico was to be admired.
Miguel is a man of few words but he obeys his trainers, with no complaint he wakes up early in the morning at Phil Landman’s command and goes through the usual strength and conditioning routine.
A touching moment was at the golf course and you could see the bond between generations, Grandfather, Son, and Grandson. The respect Miguel has for his father and the respect and admiration that Miguel’s son has for him is a heart warming moment as they enjoy a day of golf.
Toward the end of the episode Miguel Sr. had a confession, it was very tough for Miguel Sr. having to pick between his son and his brother(Evangelista). Evangelista was the trainer for Miguel and Uncle but they had a much publicized altercation that became physical and they parted ways on bad terms. Miguel Sr. did not want to break the family apart but had to choose his son over his brother. Hopefully one day they can find a way to repair things in the future.
How can you not cheer for a guy like Miguel Cotto? The man is a great asset to boxing, he gives this sport a good name.
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