The Tale of Two Miguel's: Miguel Angel Torres Talks About Training With Miguel Angel Cotto

Former WEC Bantamweight Champion, Miguel Angel Torres, talked about joining WBO Welterweight Champion, Miguel Angel Cotto's camp, as he prepares for his mega-fight against boxing's top pound-for-pound fighter, Manny Pacquiao:

"Well, me, and Pacquiao have totally different styles. You know, Pacquiao is a southpaw and I’m orthodox so it wouldn’t make any sense for me to spar with Cotto this close to his fight. But coming into this situation his camp was real sketchy -- they didn’t think I had any boxing ability whatsoever. I was working pads with his coach and they had me sparring with some of his guys that were southpaws and I was doing a great job against those guys. They were very impressed with my jab and my head movement. There were little things that I did differently because I box for MMA, I don’t box for boxing. But other than that my game was pretty solid. They were very impressed."

"We met each other … and we share the same sponsor, ECKO, which laid down the foundation for us to meet each other a long time ago. Our schedules were just so crazy we could never hook up. Him allowing me to come into his training camp was an act of faith on his part. I was worried because I wouldn’t allow someone to come into my training camp like that (spur of the moment), you know? But the fact that he allowed me to do that and to get a taste of what he does shows he’s trying to build a relationship. It’s a big thing, him letting me be here."

On training with Miguel Cotto in the future:

"When I train for my next fight he is going to come down and train with me for two weeks. That’s a big thing for him to do that. So however we set it up, I’ll have one of the best boxers in the world helping me train. And I will have his staff at my disposal also.... Imagine a training staff made up of a Miguel Cotto, Mark DelaGrotte and Robert Drysdale – imagine if those three were your coaches. And then I had a world-class wrestling coach, which I’m working on getting right now. And a strength and conditioning coach, and a nutritionist and a chef and all that stuff. Cotto has a personal chef, a personal trainer, a strength and conditioning guy, his manager, and everybody is staying here, away from everything. I mean, the cook is complaining to me how he hasn’t seen his girl in like six weeks and he’s horny as s---. It’s a real camp."

If he thinks always going hard in sparring will be a bad thing against a guy like Cotto:

If you want to learn how to walk on fire, you have to walk on fire, you have to step on hot coals. If you’re going to learn how to climb a mountain, you start climbing the mountain. I want to learn how to box like one of the best boxers in the world and I want to test myself to see where I am at and what I have to learn. And I don’t take coaching well. If Miguel Cotto beats my a--, then I know I have to work on some things, and then I’ll go from there.