Speed key to Pacquiao win

Manny Pacquiao’s lightning-quick reflexes is going to spell doom for Miguel Cotto.

Trainer Freddie Roach said speed will play a vital role in Pacquiao’s November 14 duel with Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“For this fight, speed is going to be important,” Roach told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I think if you get Cotto in a fast-paced fight, he’ll tire. So we want to come out quick and set a fast pace. Speed is our biggest asset.”

Roach concedes that Cotto, 28, will be “a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger but I think Manny’s the better boxer, and Manny’s defense is the best it’s been. I think Pacquiao will stop him along the way.”

Pacquiao, 30, has been attending showbiz commitments, fulfilling personal invitations and shooting commercials since he flattened Ricky Hatton last May.

Roach expects Pacquiao to start training in mid-September after a three-city press tour that will bring Pacquiao and Cotto on Sept. 9 in Los Angeles. There will also be stops in New York and San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Roach said videos of Cotto’s last two fights — against Michael Jennings and Joshua Clottey — will be reviewed in the coming weeks apart from Cotto’s biggest victory —against Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao and Cotto will fight at a catch weight of 145 lbs and reports have it that the Puerto Rican’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt will not be at stake.

In twice-weekly column in a tabloid, Pacquiao said he doesn’t mind if the WBO 147-lb crown will not be on the line, stressing that the mythical title of boxing’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound is far more important.

But Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said the fighter wants no less than a title fight.

“It’s not okay with Manny if it’s a non-title fight,” Gacal said in a text message.