PACQUIAO AND COTTO ARE READY TO BLAST AWAY! World Welterweight Championship

Saturday, November 14 at MGM Grand LIVE ON HBO PAY-PER VIEW®

LAS VEGAS, NV (September 17, 2009) – Boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound king and the reigning Fighter of the Year, MANNY “PacMan” PACQUIAO, and the pride of Puerto Rico and three-time world champion, MIGUEL COTTO, will rumble in the mega-event of the year – FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO – for Cotto’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title and the first-ever World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond Belt. Promoted by Top Rank in association with MGM Grand and Tecate, FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO will take place Saturday, November 14 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Pacquiao and Cotto boast nine world titles in seven different weight divisions

between them and a combined professional record of 83-4-2 (64 KOs) – a winning percentage of 93% and a victory by knockout ratio of 77%.

Remaining tickets are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges. Ticket sales at $1,000, $750, $500 and $300 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

After announcing their fight at an international public press conference in Yankee Stadium in New York last week, Pacquiao and Cotto proceeded on the remainder of the five-city coast-to-coast, two-ocean media tour which took them to Caguas, Puerto Rico, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Calif., and PETCO Park in San Diego.

“I will train harder than I have ever trained before because Miguel Cotto will be my toughest test as a professional fighter,” said Pacquiao. “I know Miguel Cotto is an excellent fighter and a great world champion.

“He is strong and smart and that is a dangerous combination for anyone who

challenges him. But like every fight, I will not enter the ring alone. My countrymen don’t just give me their support. They also give me their strength, their pride and their love. That is why I must give my all. I fight to win and to give honor to the Philippines.”

“He has fought a lot of tough fighters but never one like me,” said Cotto. “The world

will know who the best is when we meet in the ring" "This fight will be the most exciting and memorable event that Top Rank has

promoted in 40 years,” said Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum. “I am certain it will take its place as an exciting and action-packed classic such as Hagler vs. Hearns and Ali vs. Frazier III. On November 14, Pacquiao vs. Cotto will join that list of boxing classics."

“This is a superior matchup between two of the best fighters in the world,” said Ross

Greenburg, President of HBO Sports. “Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are two unique personalities, and because of that, we are looking forward to presenting another installment of our popular ‘24/7’ series.”

"The Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto championship fight will mark the end of yet

another tremendously successful year of boxing for MGM Grand," said Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE. "These two sensational warriors will electrify the crowd with their skills and leave the fans on the edge of their seats. MGM Grand is thrilled to be hosting this spectacular international event in November."

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, has won six world

titles in as many different weight divisions ranging from 112 to 140 pounds. His performance in 2008 was described as “Henry Armstrongesque,” winning world titles at 130 and 135 pounds with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz, respectively, and knocking out and retiring Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds to complete the trifecta. This year, he picked up where he left off last year – winning another world title in a new weight division – by dealing defending junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton a one-punch second-round knockout on May 2.

Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico has sold more tickets to Madison

Square Garden in this millennium than any other fighter. He has held a world title every year since 2004. Puerto Rico’s most exciting fighter, Cotto held the WBO junior welterweight crown from 2004-2006, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. He won his second welterweight title in February, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO welterweight champion. Notable scalps on Cotto’s belt include Sugar Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi and Demarcus Corley.

The Pacquiao vs. Cotto pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, ‘N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA), Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game and the U.S. Open of Motocross.

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Media): Lee Samuels, Top Rank: (702) 732-2717

Ricardo Jimenez, Top Rank/Cotto: (909) 615-3436

Fred Sternburg, Sternburg Comm/Pacquiao: (303) 740-7746

Bill Caplan, Top Rank: (818) 515-1616 Ed Keenan, EMC Events: (609) 399-1330

Scott Ghertner, MGM MIRAGE: (702) 650-7565

Patrick Byrne, HBO Pay-Per-View: (212) 512-1361

Media Credentials: www.magnamedia.com