Manny Pacquiao's preparation for his Nov. 14 fight WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao is providing a different kind of chill up in Baguio these days.

Since arriving in the country’s summer capital the other day, the reigning pound-for-pound champion has generated so much attention that people have started to follow him wherever he goes and drool over whatever he does.

Pacquiao was met by a pack of mediamen, including those from various wire agencies, at the Cooyeesan Hotel upon his arrival, and a horde of fans, mostly tourists, when he went out for a run at the famous Burnham Park.

Pacquiao was out on the road at 5 a.m. yesterday, and instead of going to the Sta. Lucia golf course, opted to go straight to the park located at the heart of Baguio City. Before he knew it, a crowd had gathered around him.

Pacquiao chose a spot to do his morning rituals after the run, some shadow boxing, stretching and abdominal exercises as a security team tried to shield him from the crowd.

“It’s okay, Michael,” he told his Canadian adviser, Mike Koncz, referring to the crowd that had inched closer to the boxer to watch his every move.

Pacquiao stayed in the park for close to an hour, and in between sets, shared jokes with his trainers, Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, and Koncz, who’s in charge of the boxer’s stay in Baguio.

Pacquiao was very friendly with his fans and showed them how he loves putting on a show while training.

After a brief rest in his hotel suite, Pacquiao moved a couple of floors lower where the gym is located. He worked out for nearly two hours, with just a few mediamen allowed in to take pictures of the boxer.

From the gym, Pacquiao moved to another wing of the hotel and played basketball with members of his team. The other day, he complained of some pain in his knee after playing basketball in San Francisco.

But all seems well now for the 30-year-old megastar who pounded the road, and the mitts like he’s been training for a month now.

Pacquiao has eight full weeks to prepare for his Nov. 14 fight with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto who’s in his first month of training by now. From Puerto Rico, he has moved over to Tampa, Florida.

Pacquiao’s chief trainer, Freddie Roach, and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, are scheduled to arrive this morning from Los Angeles and take the five-hour ride to Baguio to start presiding over the training.

Cotto to Knock Pacquiao

By Manuel Perez: I’m really looking forward to November 14th, so that WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto can knock Manny Pacquiao down a peg or two. This guy needs be stopped pronto. I was comfortable with Cotto giving Pacquiao a slow methodical beating for 12 long rounds, but now I prefer that Cotto get rid of Pacquiao as soon possible, preferably in the 1st or 2nd rounds. Pacquiao needs to stopped.

Think of it this way: If Pacquiao were to win the fight, we’d probably be seeing a future of him continuing to fight catch weight bouts again fighters that would have little choice but to have their titles on the line or risk being stripped of their titles by the sanctioning bodies.

That’s what happens when you get a fighter that gets too powerful for their own good. They can throw their weight around and make things happen. You know and I know that any close decisions involving Pacquiao very likely go to him, just as was the case in his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez last year. Who in their right mind saw Pacquiao winning that fight. And that’s what I’m talking about. Unless Cotto stops Pacquiao now, he’s going to have too much power for his own good.

I don’t know how Pacquiao got popular because he doesn’t deserve it my view. It was the wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton that did it for him. Before that, Pacquiao was just a fighter like anyone else. He won some fights and then would lose some others. But once he got the wins over De La Hoya and Hatton, suddenly Pacquiao has acquired a lot of popularity. And I don’t see that as good thing. I think it’s time that Pacquiao lose and be brought down to earth.

I want to see him get knocked out, because when you have a popular fighter like him, there’s too much wriggle room for the judges to give him a decision unless Cotto knocks him five or six times in the fight. We’re talking about a popular fighter here. Boxing is known for this kind of thing.

That’s why Cotto has to take Pacquiao apart and make sure that there’s no chance that Pacquiao and get a decision awarded to him unjustly. Because, believe me, if Pacquiao wins by another controversial decision, there’s probably next to no chance that Cotto will get a chance to get a rematch.

If you don’t believe me, just look at Marquez. He’s still waiting for a rematch a year and half later after his controversial loss to Pacquiao. And you know what? Marquez is probably going to wait a lot more longer for a fight against Pacquiao. My guess is probably never.