| 23 January 2012
That's how it looks right now, anyway. Lem Satterfield of RingTV.com had a chance to speak to Cotto advisor Gaby Penagaricano, who said that he has spoken to the handlers for both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and that the 154-pound titleholder remains a potential opponent for either of the world's two top pound-for-pound boxers.
For Cotto, that's great news. He's at the point in his career where he's only interested in the biggest fights out there. They don't get any bigger than Manny and Floyd, so it's all good in that respect.
As a fan and admirer of Cotto, I'm not crazy abut his chances to actually win either match, though. We all know what happened the first time he fought Pacquiao - he got pummeled. Sure, Manny may have lost half a step since then, but that won't be enough to even things out. A rematch could be closer, but that still doesn't mean it would be close.
Mayweather may beat him up less than Pacquiao would, but it's hard to see Cotto posing a serious threat to him either. Floyd is simply too fast and too good defensively, plus he'd have no problem fighting extra cautiously if Miguel did find some way to pressure him. Cotto is naturally bigger, so there's that, but would that be enough to make a dramatic fight? I'm skeptical.
If Pacquiao and Mayweather do miraculously end up facing each other, it's a big step down for Cotto to step in against anyone else. I know that Miguel has a lot of respect for the sport of boxing and its history, and I assume he's fan enough to want to see Pacquiao-Mayweather just like the rest of us. But he's got reasons, probably millions of them, to want to see it not come together for the time being.
I'm not mad about that at all. Selfishly, I just hope things don't work out for Cotto, at least this once.
