TO say WBA light-middleweight champion Yuri Foreman and his challenger at New York?s Yankee Stadium this Saturday, Miguel Cotto, appeared relaxed at today?s final pre-fight press conference would be something of an understatement.
Foreman was smiley and talkative throughout, seemingly ready with a handshake or photogenic pose for anyone who wanted one. If taking part in his first fight-week of such enormous magnitude was bothering him, he did a fine job of hiding it.
?Pressure? What pressure?? the Brooklyn-based trainee Rabbi laughed as I cornered him en route to his car. ?Everything is part of the show and it?s all good, I?m feeling good.
?It?s huge,? he conceded. ?I?m really honoured and grateful, it?s a great honour for me to represent my people and there?s going to be a lot of noise.?
If Foreman was at ease, Cotto was so laidback he could easily have been reclining on a beach somewhere. Looking like the central character from a Tarantino film, the Puerto Rican, clad in a sharp grey suit and dark glasses, leaned back in his chair, one arm locked in a protective embrace around his son, Miguel III, who was oblivious to the importance of the events going on around him, focusing instead on what looked like an IPad. Cotto rarely smiled ? he is far too cool for that ? but, after his defeat to star attraction Manny Pacquiao in November, appeared happy to be the centre of attention this time. If he left early ? at least half an hour before Foreman ? that can be put down to his admirably putting his children first.
?I trained pretty hard, we had a lot of good ambience in Tampa and came here with the same attitude,? the former two-weight world champion explained. ?I want to make it an exciting fight for the fans and I hope Foreman wants that too. The fans are going to be the winners.?
Even the staredown was little more than a formality. Neither man blinked or walked away ? and Foreman looked not only significantly taller than his opponent but also appeared to match him for bulk ? but as soon as the snappers were satisfied, they shook hands, had a brief hug and got on with things, both looking relieved to have got the showbusiness aspect of proceedings out of the way. This will clearly not be one of those fights that is one during the pre-show media opportunities.
Surprisingly, many of the assembled journalists were picking Foreman, but Cotto?s new trainer, Kronk legend Emanuel Steward, was one notable deviant, although did sound a note of caution.
?I?ve given more interviews about this fight than any other since the first [Thomas] Hearns-[Sugar Ray] Leonard fight,? Steward smiled. ?The styles of these two fighters, the emotions that will erupt, it will be a tremendous fight.
?I haven?t made a lot of drastic changes with Cotto, that would have been stupid. But he has improved in the areas I wanted him to improve. This fight is very important to his legacy. He?s ready to start fighting from the beginning, he can?t get behind.?
The contest is crucial to how Cotto is viewed upon retirement, especially if he follows through on his promise to call it a day before he turns 30 in October. However, this could also represent Foreman?s springboard to increased prominence and opportunity. Show promoter Bob Arum insisted no plans had yet been made for the winner.
?There?s no way plans would be made now,? Arum, looking pretty fly for an old guy (78), stated. ?A lot of things have to fall into place. Number one, we have to see if [Floyd] Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao can be made. If that fight is made a lot of the other chips fall into place. If it can?t be made, Pacquiao will probably fight [Antonio] Margarito and that takes Margarito away from the [Cotto-Foreman] winner. But we?ll find solutions once we see how it all breaks down.?
On Mayweather-Pacquiao, Arum stressed negotiations could still go either way.
?I don?t know one way or the other,? he stated. ?I want that fight to happen and so does Manny, that?s all I can say. But it takes two to tango.?
Regardless of whether that superfight comes off, Cotto-Foreman is not a bad contest to focus on in the meantime. I cannot pick a winner based on the presser but one thing I can guarantee is that both men will be under substantially more strain come Saturday night.
