By Miguel Maravilla

Five-time world champion Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) and hard-hitting slugger James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) held a press conference Friday afternoon at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California for their upcoming showdown taking place February 25 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas live on HBO Pay per view.

Miguel Cotto: “I am happy to be here. My camp started three weeks ago. Freddie is in charge and I know I’ll be ready for February 25th. We are ready for the fight. I feel good and marvelous. Freddie has trained me well and I am confident that I will be ready for February 25th.

“James is a tough fighter and he’s going to go to work with victory on his mind. I’m going to work with that, too. We are going to start camp today with Freddie and we are looking forward to the fight.

“Jerry Jones is a great promoter. I have a lot of respect for the Dallas Cowboys organization. It’s great to have them support this event.

“This fight is going to be the newest chapter in my career. I can’t control what people say about me after I retire. All I do in life is for my family and my kids. That is going to my legacy.”

Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach: “Right now we have a tough fight. Miguel the last two days has been great. It’s good to be back to work and happy to be working with Miguel.”

James Kirkland: “I believe it’s a tremendous opportunity and Miguel to take advantage and put up a good fight for the fans. I’ve been training with Ann for so long, everything that she put me through, or whatever situation might come with training with Ann, I feel like it was always worth it. Dealing with Ann it come down to no limitations and go through to succeed. Ann knows how to push me to the next limit…I’m more focused than ever. Cotto is somebody who has fought all of the greats so I know that he has many tricks up his sleeves and that he prepares well for his fights…I am going to go out there and give it my all.”

James Kirkland’s manager Mike Miller: “We look forward to showing our talent on February 25. Texas is our home state and with Ann Wolfe training James, he’s never lost. He’s got a tremendous knock out record percentage. We look forward to the upcoming weeks of training. When the bell rings, we’ll be ready come February 25. Get your tickets early. Texas is going to come out proud and strong for James.”

Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy Michael Yormark: “On Feb. 25 at Ford Center at The Star, we will witness the big return of boxing legend Miguel Cotto. This is the first pay-per-view fight of the year and this will be Miguel Cotto’s 10th pay-per-view fight of his career. I know there has been some stories and comments regarding the pay-per-view status of this fight. Miguel Cotto has been a pay-per-view fighter for a long time. He is a pay-per-view fighter. This fight belongs on pay-per-view.”

“James Kirkland is an aggressive and lethal opponent, the perfect opponent for Miguel Cotto. From the opening bell, you are going to see action. That is what this fight is all about. This fight will be all about entertainment with these two we are going to have a brawl and people want to see that,”