When I saw Chuck Liddell on the green of the AT&T park in San Francisco, it was obvious that something was up. He walked around talking to different individuals, and all eyes were on him. That was until a certain man appeared on the field. Miguel Cotto instantly stole the public attention from Chuck, as he walked to his seat on the stage. As he was nearing his seat, I heard another roar from the crowd: a much louder and energetic one. At first I could not understand what this was about, but luckily I was in second row of the press section, and was able to stand on my chair and see what brought the commotion on. Of course, I saw Manny Pacquiao, the cause and effect of the hype, walking towards us.
There were close to three thousand in attendance at the press conference. Bob Arum came dressed business-like as always, wearing a dark orange suit and smiling at the crowd. Pacquiao came dressed for the weather, wearing jeans and sneakers, with a SF Giants jacket and baseball cap. Roach decided to follow his pupil’s fashion style, and was sporting the Giants attire as well. Cotto on the other hand had a completely opposite stylist in him. He showed up dressed sharp, a pant suit with dress shoes, and a nice light sweater. Early on, he was shivering and rubbing his hands together to keep warmer. Pacquiao 1, Cotto 0
During the conference, Manny was boasting with energy and excitement, smiling, signing autographs, and waving to the crowd. Cotto, was very quiet and reserved, and decided to save his smile for post fight press conference I guess. Was it the jet-lag effect from the night flight from Puerto Rico? Exhaustion from the long training camp and numerous sparring partners? Or was he just too concentrated on this fight?
As the conference got to the questions part, it started to rain. Still, there seemed to be no notice of that from the crowd or the staff. When asked whether Pacman could stand and trade with Cotto, Manny stated that they have a game plan for this fight, giving us all a generic answer that we did not want to hear. Arum of course was guilty of the same crime, giving no clear response to a possibility of a Mayweather fight or possibly even Marquez rematch. Guess what? For his response on Manny’s speed being a huge factor in this fight, Cotto stated that he will train hard in the gym. Another default answer for the soaked crowd in the bleachers.
Gloves and other items were thrown at the fighters like they were piñatas. Autographs became the main focus of the event, which is very disappointing for the fans and the media. At one point in time, a glove hit Cotto as he was signing another one, making him look a little frustrated.
Overall I did not like the way this press conference was conducted. It was sloppy, unorganized, and the questions were never answered. Not only were the media left wet dude to the bay area weather, they were also froze out of the information they needed for their writing. As the media was escorted inside by the staff, with a promise of more time for questions to the fighters, all we saw were the black Lincoln Navigators exiting the parking lot.
Thanks For Reading.
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