When Toney was asked what makes Pacquiao so special, he quickly replied, “Combinations! That’s something you see a lot of smaller guys getting away from, but Pacquiao throws a shit load of combinations, punches in bunches, and from all angles.” With Mayweather or Mosley set to face off in less than six weeks, let’s keep our fingers crossed that the winner will quickly come to terms with Pacquiao so we can find out if Toney is correct.

Clottey is a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion and a very sturdy welterweight who has a size advantage and power to upset the Filipino Superstar.

Meanwhile, Coach Freddie also talked about the current status and progress in Pacquiao’s training camp.

“He has sparred twice, he looks really good, he knocked out one sparring partner and we have four other sparring partners in here at the moment.”

Manny Pacquiao’s diet and conditioning Guru Alex Ariza added that PacMan is “very sharp and looks like he’ll be ready to fight next week.”

Manny showed us that he is very well-prepared and 100% ready against this tough Puerto Rican Welterweight Champion. “I can’t wait for the fight,” declared the reigning pound-for-pound champion as he limbered up, with mediamen lining up three sides of the ring.

“Training was good. I don’t think I was even distracted during the camp,” he also added. It was when asked about the tension – including the series of calamities that occurred when he first began training camp in Baguio City, Philippines.

Manny had eight weeks of hard work and intense training as he prepares one of the toughest fights on his entire career.

“This is a huge fight for me. This is a big fight. Because if I win I become the first boxer to capture seven titles in seven weight divisions,” he said.

The pound-for-pound king acknowledges that his speed is the main weapon he has against Cotto. And believe that he has also power to neutralize the size advantage of the Puerto Rican boxer.

“Kahit tumagal ang fight wala ako problema (Even if the fight lasts long I won’t have a problem),” said Pacquiao, even if his chief trainer Freddie Roach had predicted a knockout that could come in the first round or at most the 10th.

Pacquiao denies the allegation for having a personal conflict between him and his chief trainer Roach. He said that there’s no rift between him and his trainer and in fact, they’d finalize the training schedule during the fight’s press tour next week.

Meanwhile, assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez is now up in Baguio to check the facilities there for them to start training maybe next week. Baguio is Philippines’ summer capital, chilly most of the year, around 150 miles north of Manila and 1,500 meters above sea level.

Earlier, Freddie Roach had been opposed to Pacquiao training in the country, that too many distractions might hinder the concentration of his prize fighter as the training goes on. Roach wants Manny to train in Toluca, Mexico, instead. Other options will be in Vancouver but in the end its Pacquiao personal choice to hold his initial training in Baguio for the Nov. 14 title fight with Cotto.

The Filipino then resumes his training in the U.S three weeks before the fight.

Pacquiao said he will discuss things with Roach when they hook up next week for the press tour in New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. He already expected the three-time Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach along with conditioning coach Alex Ariza and three sparring partners to come along with him as he will arrived here from the U.S tour.

Many Filipinos now are starting to get worry thinking him for being overconfident and too relax. But the 30-year old top pound-for-pound fighter today assured Roach and his hordes of Filipino fans that everything is going to be fine once he enters training camp.

“I understand our countrymen or my fans feeling worried about my training. I want to assure them that I’m not taking it for granted. I know myself. I know that eight weeks should do it,” he added.

Fresh from winning NBA championship against Orlando Magic, Bryant and reigning pound-for-pound king Pacquiao recently met during a commercial shoot for Nike in Los Angeles.

Bryant admits that they have great bonding with our own boxing icon hero Manny Pacquiao. It’s definitely not because they share the same sports apparel brand but both of them has a heart of a champion, a winning attitude and dedication to their respective sport.

“I love him,” Bryant said of Pacquiao during Tuesday’s press conference for his 2009 Asia Tour: Philippines for Nike in Makati City. Meanwhile, Manny was all praises and accolades for the LA Lakers superstar on his return from the commercial shoot, admiring Bryant’s humility and warmth while declaring his self as a Laker fan though he rooted for the Celtics before.

However for Bryant, the feeling is mutual. “I enjoy being around with people who are just as competitive, who have the same passion and work ethic,” the “Black Mamba” said. “It’s an honor to meet him because you can tell by watching him perform when he boxes that he truly loves the sport and I have the tremendous amount of respect for him. I wish him all the best.”

Now a “Pacfan” himself, Bryant would love to see Pacquiao clash with Miguel Cotto live on November 14 – if only his tight schedule would allow.

“I’ve never seen him fight in person but if I don’t have a game in his next fight, I’ll be there,” he said.

Asking about what he feels in Pacquiao’s chances against Cotto, Bryant said: “Manny Pacquiao all the way. I think it’s not even a question” to the applause of everyone in the ballroom.

Recently, Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal also said that “a premium” would likely carry Manny to accommodate Cotto’s request that the scheduled 12-rounder be fought at 145 lbs. It had originally been planned that Pacquiao, Koncz and Gacal would fly to Los Angeles but Koncz said there would be no more need for such a tiring and costly trip since Pacquiao has already agreed.

“Bob is expected to make an announcement about this fight within the week,” said Koncz. Arum is coming off a three-week vacation in Europe. Meanwhile, Manny’s itinerary in the coming days and weeks remains tight owing to his showbiz commitments.

Former President Erap Estrada has intimidated his desire to have Pacquiao in his camp for the upcoming 2010 elections following their meeting in General Santos on the past 2 weeks. Even former US President Bill Clinton admired and had photographed beside Manny in Las Vegas hours before Pacquiao knocked Ricky Hatton out on their May 3 fight.

On June 14, Manny was crowned “fighter of the year” again by the American Boxing Sportswriters Association in New York. According to Forbes, Pacquiao take $40 million in the last 12 months. He now stands alongside 2009 NBA MVP LeBron James and American golfer Phil Mickelson.

Having that huge amount of money, at his age of 30, would be a more than enough reason to call it a day. He becomes successful as a boxer and still hopes to become a future Congressman in 2010 to serve his countrymen. Wishing you luck Manny and hope your dreams will come true!

Roach, who added predicting how his prized ward’s fights would end to his resume, said Pacquiao’s May 2 (May 3 in Manila) fight against Ricky Hatton would end early when asked by reporters during “The Battle of East vs. West” promotional tour in Hollywood.

“I told Manny that if he doesn’t knock (Hatton) out in three rounds I’ll be disappointed. (Manny’s) training hard always and watching the tapes and dissecting Hatton’s style,” said Roach, who correctly predicted Pacquiao’s last two wins.

The hall of famer coach boldly predicted Pacquiao would beat David Diaz in the ninth round by way of knockout. His ward did not let disappoint his trainer and on June 28, 2008 Diaz went down by KO in the ninth.

He also predicted that Oscar De La Hoya would lose by a ninth round KO against Pacquiao. Prior to the fight, Roach said that De La Hoya could no longer pull the trigger and reiterated that De La Hoya’s height and size advantage against Pacquiao would not be a factor.

Roach’s predictions came true. Although the Filipino boxing superstar won by KO, he missed one round since the match ended after eight rounds with the “Golden Boy” deciding not to continue with the fight failing to catch up with a speedy and elusive Pacquiao.

In an interview with FightType.com, Roach said Manny knows the game plan very well. “We had some really good sparring partners and Manny’s doing well. We have the game plan down. Manny knows how to fight this guy.”

He added that Hatton would have a hard time using his left hook. “You know what Ricky Hatton does best he throws punches kind of holds you, ties you up and then sinks that left hook into the body, his best punch. We’re not going to be there. He’s not even going to be able to find us. We’re just way too fast for him.”

Pacquiao is eight months pregnant with her fourth child with the Filipino world champion, making it delicate for her to watch a bout expected to be tenser than any of her husband’s previous fights.

It didn’t take long for the 29-year-old Jinkee to voice her objection to that possibility.

“I didn’t like it; I felt like that fight shouldn’t happen,” she told journalists in Filipino late Thursday evening during a Thanksgiving mass and dinner held at the Pacquiaos’ Palazzo residence in La Brea.

“I told Manny that there are other opponents he can fight. I asked him to pick any one of them, just not De La Hoya.”

But Jinkee was eventually reversed by a whirlwind of events that all led to this: On December 6, Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine boxing hero, will climb the ring and face the sport’s biggest name right now and its acknowledged “Golden Boy,” Oscar De La Hoya. Being a supportive wife, Jinkee eventually relented.

Jinkee has never missed watching from the sidelines. She almost did when her husband took on Eric Morales in 2006.

The Filipino superstar, all set to face the great Oscar dela Hoya at 147 pounds, told Filipino journalists last Wednesday he’d never fight again in the 135-pound division.

“Actually I think I’d never go back down to 135,” said Pacquiao when asked about the possibility of him trying to defend the WBC lightweight crown.

“It’s too difficult for me to get to 135 pounds now. I walk around at 155 when there’s no fight, and 135 is too much a distance for me,” he said.

Pacquiao said whatever happens in his “Dream Match” with Dela Hoya, he’d rather stay at 140 or 147 pounds where he feels a lot more comfortable now.

“There are great fighters at 140 and Ricky Hatton is just one of them,” he said, as he enjoys a plateful of chicken lollipops, fried salmon and crab rice.

Pacquiao saying he’s giving up the lightweight crown also means that he no longer has to pay the WBC an extra $100,000 as sanction fee for the Dela Hoya fight.

A couple of weeks ago, the WBC said Pacquiao owed the body $30,000 in sanction fees for a previous fight and that he needed to pay the extra $100,000 for Dela Hoya bout.

Pacquiao was given 15 days to pay up or he gets stripped of the 135-pound title. He did pay the $30,000 but not the bigger amount.

He no longer had plans of defending the crown, actually the fourth world title the Filipino southpaw had won next to the flyweight, super-bantam and super-featherweight.

Manny Pacquiao is the only Asian boxer to have won four world titles in different weight classes, and also the only fighter from the Philippines to be crowned lightweight champion.

“I feel so drained and reduced at 135 pounds,” he said, leaving behind a division being where Juan Manuel Marquez, Nate Campbell and Michael Katsidis now reside.

But that’s all he has to say about the move. “Because I want to focus on this fight first,” he added.