Manny Pacquiao Vs. Miguel Cotto Superfight Set for November 14

The Boxing Superfight between pound-for-pound number one Manny Pacquiao and welterweight title-holder Miguel Cotto is official according to Bob Arum, who is both Cotto's and Pacquiao's promoter. The bout will be at a catchweight of 145 pounds, two pounds under the welterweight limit and will happen on November 14, 2009. This fight will be televised on HBO pay-per-view.

Pacquiao had disputed that the fight be fought at a catchweight of 143 pounds, before agreeing on the 145 pound-limit. There have been no contracts signed yet but Bob Arum has said that he has reached a verbal agreement with both fighters. Pacquiao will make more than 50 percent of the money, but that wasn't an issue.

Pacquiao (49-3-2), who is an icon and a superstar in his home country of the Philippines, is coming off the two most dominant victories of his career against top opposition to secure his place as the pound-for-pound king. Pacquiao was involved in "The Dream Match" with Oscar De La Hoya. The Pac-Man was an underdog, as he was moving up in weight, but was consistently quicker and beat Oscar to the punch. Pacquiao mercilessly battered De La Hoya in the 7th and 8th round, until De La Hoya's corner stopped the fight. De La Hoya retired after the fight. Pacquiao then fought against top ranked junior-welterweight Ricky Hatton. Again, Pacquiao came out quicker than Hatton and hurt him in the first round, resulting in two knockdowns. Pacquiao would knock Hatton out cold with a single left hook in round two. Hatton would be on the ground for five minutes, and has been mulling retirement since the loss.

Cotto (34-1) doesn't have the kind of star power that Pacquiao has, but is the most popular Puerto Rican fighter today. Cotto is not as popular as Felix Trinidad was and still is in Puerto Rico, but could be, if he can defeat Pacquiao impressively. Cotto, who is a natural welterweight, unlike Pac-Man, is coming off two consecutive wins since losing the only fight in his career against Antonio Margarito. It was unclear if Margarito had loaded gloves against Cotto, like he did against Shane Mosley. Cotto beat heavily overmatched Michael Jennings earlier this year, knocking him down three times and finished him in the fifth round. Most recently, Cotto defended his welterweight title with a bloody and hard-fought split decision win against Joshua Clottey.

Tickets for the fight will go on sale in late August and a three-city press tour has already been scheduled. The tour schedule for now will be Los Angeles on September 9, New York on September 10, and San Juan on September 12.

Pacquiao has said that this could be the last fight of his career, as he wants to be more involved in politics for the Philippines. There is another superfight looming between Pacquiao and Floyd "Money" Mayweather that could happen in 2010, if Pacquiao beats Cotto and Mayweather can get by Juan Manuel Marquez.