Manny Pacquiao has backed his Wild Card stablemate Miguel Cotto to win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in their November clash for the World Boxing Council middleweight championship at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

Unlike the fierce prediction of trainer Freddie Roach that Cotto would knockout Alvarez, Pacquiao had a light forecast, saying that Cotto will defeat Canelo via 12-round unanimous decision. “I think that Miguel Cotto is going to win the fight,” Pacquiao said, reports Boxing Scene. “Canelo is a good fighter, but I see Cotto winning this fight by decision.”

Pacquiao, who has been recovering from a surgery that repaired a torn rotator cuff suffered against Floyd Mayweather Jr in May, also praised the Puerto Rican boxer, whom he defeated in 2009 via 12-round stoppage. The Filipino boxing icon said Cotto would be the favourite to win due to the Puerto Rican’s good boxing experience and with the help of seven-time Boxing Writers Association trainer of the year winner Roach.

Cotto went through a series of trainers after suffering losses against Mayweather and Austin Trout. The 34-year-old middleweight parted with Cuban coach Pedro Diaz in July 2013 and hired Roach as his new trainer. Ever since training under the guidance of Roach, Cotto has won three fights in a row, including a knockout win over Sergio Martinez to claim the WBC middleweight title belt and become the first Puerto Rican to win world championships in four divisions.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao, who has revealed his intentions to retire from boxing to focus on his political career, has claimed he is in negotiations with Mayweather for a rematch before May, when the Philippine national elections start. However, Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum has played down any of the Filipino’s claims, saying that he had not contacted anyone about a rematch.

"I have no idea what he's [Pacquiao] talking about," Arum told Yahoo Sports. “Mayweather is retired and I take him at his word. But second, you know there is no way that Mayweather is ever going to fight in the Gulf, even if he did decide to fight again, so it's all [expletive]."

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