MAYWEATHER VS. COTTO

So Miguel Cotto vs. Floyd Mayweather was just announced for May 5. What are your thoughts? Obviously, Pacquiao-Mayweather won’t be happening, but this is a decent fight in my opinion. Cotto has looked solid at 154, and better in general since working with Emanuel Steward and Pedro Luis Diaz. I think he can take a Mayweather power shot, but he probably can’t win a decision against Mayweather (not many could), so I guess the question is, can Cotto knock Floyd out?

Has Floyd faced anyone with the power and experience and in the correct weight class like Cotto (and also not past their prime)? I’m definitely more excited for this than the Pacman-Bradley bout, and I’m a Pac fan. Just wanted your take. – Matt in Mattawan

I also like this matchup and I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s the best fight that Mayweather could make that doesn’t involve Pacquiao or Sergio Martinez. And kudos to Floyd for fighting Cotto at 154 pounds and not at welterweight or a catchweight (yes, you read right, I’m actually giving Mayweather credit for something).

You asked if Mayweather has ever faced anyone (who wasn’t past his prime) with Cotto’s power and experience in the “correct” weight. I believe he has, but it’s been awhile. We have to go back to the Zab Judah fight (2006) or all the way back to Jose Luis Castillo (2002).

Can Cotto knock Mayweather out? No, I don’t see that happening. However, I agree that while Cotto may not be the same physical specimen he was pre-Margarito, he’s improved his technique under Steward and Diaz, which should serve him well against Mayweather.  I think the Puerto Rican star can give Mayweather his toughest fight since the first bout with Castillo.

JABS & NOTES

Hey Dougie,

1st time writer, long time reader. A couple questions about some upcoming

matchups and fights I’d like to see.

1. I think Mr. Nonito Donaire is in for his money against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. whom I consider to be a live underdog. I was not impressed with Nonito’s effort against the Argentine Turtle and feel he could’ve made turtle soup if he chose to. What’s your take?

2. On the same note, who would you take at Super Bantam; Nonito or Pacquiao?

And how do you think they would fare against Rafa Marquez or Israel Vazquez

in their prime???

3. I have to admit that I get somewhat aggravated when I hear talks of a

Super-Mega-Ultra-Deluxe-With-a-Cherry-on-Top fight between the top 2 fighters in the world, only for it not to be made.

4. I also have to admit that it works better than ExtenZe.

5. After Chavez Jr.  takes out Rubio, and believe me he will, I would love to see  him against “El Canelo.” I’m a big Mexican boxing fan and I’d hate to see him get destroyed by Maravilla. Did you catch Chavez Sr.’s face when Junior was asked about a fight with Martinez??? Hahaha hilarious!

6. With that being said, I think Maravilla takes out anyone around his weight class

not named Ward or Bute.

And Finally,

7. Marquez vs. Morales at 140…. Who you got?

Thanks. — Santiago Oseguera

Thank you for sharing your opinions and questions with me, Santiago. I’ll respond to them in order:

1. I think Donaire fell asleep at the wheel against Narvaez and he wants to make up for it with a head-turning performance against Vazquez. The solid Puerto Rican boxer, who I hear has struggled to get down to 122 pounds, has added fuel to Donaire’s fire by talking trash and predicting a KO victory. I think the Filipino Flash is going to score an impressive mid-rounds KO, but he’ll have to work for it.

2. Of course, I have to go with the proven guy, Pacquiao, at 122 pounds. Donaire has to beat Vazquez before we can compare him with any junior featherweight, past or present. PacMan vs. Vazquez would have been a brutal war at 122 pounds, and Pac would have prevailed with a late-rounds TKO. Pacquiao vs. Marquez would have been a tit-for-tat battle much like his fights with Rafa’s older brother, only the former bantamweight champ has the power to end the fight. That’s a toss-up matchup.

3. Maybe it will happen in the fall or winter of this year, provided Mayweather gets by Cotto and Pacquiao beats Bradley.

4.Whoa! WAY too much information, brotha. Lem Satterfield must be your favorite boxing writer.

5. I also think Chavez will take care of biz vs. MA Rubio, and if we’re right, I’d much rather watch Junior next face Canelo than sacrifice his health and career against THE RING middleweight champ. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Chavez defend his green belt against Jermain Taylor, Peter Quillin or Martin Murray, either.  

6. I agree, but I’d still like to see him take on the other beltholders: Daniel Geale (IBF), Dmitry Pirog (WBO), Felix Strum (WBA) and my personal favorite Gennady Golovkin (the WBA “regular” titleholder).

7. Marquez in an epic 12-round war.

BOB ARUM

Boy, Arum is something else, is he not? He says JCC Jr. would “hurt himself” fighting Cotto at 158? Antonio “Hands of Plaster” Margarito would hurt himself if he came down below 153 for Cotto? Where was this same concern about weight when Cotto was asked to come down for Pacquiao? Now, I agree it was Cotto’s choice but not once did you hear Arum defend Cotto’s right as champ to come in at the full weight limit.

Cotto, a man of great pride, has been treated terribly by Top Rank. When he was capable of beating Mayweather, Arum public stated repeatedly Cotto was not ready. Mosley was a test for the fleet of hand and foot Mayweather, a fight Mosley almost took away. What I can’t understand is why Arum protected Margarito vs Cotto in the plaster issue when COTTO was the money maker for him? Freddie Roach is a stand up guy. I know he feels some kinda way about things being OK for one guy and not for OK another. It’s the kinda guy he is. I think he plays nice because his son (Pacman) is all he really cares about at this point and he wants him to be happy so he holds his peace. But I think when Pacman retires Freddie will have some things to say about Arum. – Shareef

We’ll see. Cotto is indeed a money maker for Arum, but not as much as Pacquiao is. That’s why Arum didn’t make any statements about Cotto’s health going into their fight in late 2009. Plus, Pacquiao still had not established himself as a formidable welterweight at the time. His only welterweight bout was against De La Hoya, who was faded and weight drained, and he only weighed 142 pounds at the weighin for that fight. Prior to that De La Hoya, he’d never fought above 135 pounds. If Arum was worried about anyone, it was probably his chief money-maker; not Cotto.

Also, while Cotto is the bigger star on the East Coast (particularly in NYC) and the far more respected fighter among the media, Margarito – being Mexican – is a ticket seller in more U.S. markets (as I’m sure you know there are more Mexicans spread across this country than Puerto Ricans). Plus, all of the boxing media’s soap boxing outrage over Margarito helped transform the former titleholder (who couldn’t attract more than a couple thousand fans to his fights during his prime, 2002-’06) into a “bad guy” character that Arum could sell in PPV events. So yeah, Cotto was a money maker for Arum, but so is Margy Margz post-Mosley and handwraps scandal.

And if Bob’s got Margarito’s back (and he has ever since the CSAC yanked the TJ Tornado’s license; and you could argue ever since Margz lost to P-Will), you KNOW he’s going to be looking out for Chavez Jr. There’s no point in even getting about that. It is what it is: business.

SAN ANTONIO

Hey Dougie,

It’s been a long time.. Are you gonna make the trip to see Donaire fight in San Antonio? If so, we can meet up for a beer. Hope all is well! – Will Alston

I’ll have to take a rain check, Will. I’ll be watching on HBO. Thanks for the offer.  I might make it out for the Morales-Garcia/Kirkland-Molina card in Houston in March.

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

What’s good? What do you think of a May 5th ppv putting Floyd Mayweather vs Miguel Cotto on top of an undercard with Saul Alvarez vs Shane Mosley, Amir Khan vs Roberto Guerrero for the WBA belt that they will strip from Lamont Peterson for not doing the rematch; also Jessie Vargas vs Humberto Soto?

I did the numbers and it would cost in fighters salaries around 37 million. Mayweather would get $26.5 mil, Cotto – $8 mil., Alvarez – $1 mil., Mosley – 800K, Khan – 650K, Guerrero – 300K, Vargas – 125K,  Soto – 75K. The live gate would be in the $14 mil. range and it would do at least 1.7 on ppv at S70 a pop. To increase the revenue they could split site Alvarez vs Mosley from Staples Center. That would bring an extra 7 mil. live gate. With all this being said why can’t GBP and HBO put this show together and put on the greatest ppv ever. From your estimate how much in revenue would HBO and GBP stand to make and would it even be worth putting on a show like this? I think the show could be put together rather easily. Let’s not forget the UK and Mexican monies also. Let me know what u think? – James

I think a super-stacked PPV card like the one you propose is something that promoters should strive for, but the card you’ve listed for me is not as “easy” as you think it is.

For starters, half of the undercard would want to be paid a lot more than what you are offering. There’s no way in hell that Soto would accept $75,000 to fight Vargas, or that Mosley would take less than seven-figures to serve as stepping stone for Canelo. Right or wrong, both veterans would be offended by the amount of money that you are suggesting for them.

Soto is a former two-division titleholder (three-division if you count the interim featherweight belt he won when he beat Rocky Juarez). He moved up to 140 pounds in hopes of getting a crack at El Terrible’s green belt, not to be a test for a rugged prospect who still hasn’t made a name for himself (especially if that young gun is making more money than he is).

Mosley laid an egg in his last three fights but he made hefty seven-figure paydays in two of those outings (vs. Mayweather and Pacquiao). He would not settle for less than a $1 million to face the so-called next great Mexican star. No way.

And I doubt Khan would take $650,000 to face a very difficult foe like The Ghost, even if a vacant title were up for grabs. Khan’s interested in two junior welterweight bouts right now – the Peterson rematch and a showdown with Bradley. I know Guerrero would face Khan (or anyone from 135-147) for half of $300,000, but who is really asking for that bout? The Ghost is unproven at 140 pounds. And neither fighter has proven the ability to push PPV sells.

I think it might be possible to make Alvarez-Mosley under Cotto-Mayweather – which would be an awesome PPV double-header – but there wouldn’t be much money left for the rest of the undercard. Perhaps, there would be enough to make the Vargas-Josesito Lopez rematch to serve as the broadcast opener.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

Not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but where was Sergio Martinez in the Ring Poll for who Floyd should fight if it’s not Manny? Seems that every fighter on the list is a GBP fighter except Cotto, who is a potential free agent that I’m sure they’d like to sign. – Toomey

Two viable opponents were left off that RingTV.com poll because they already had fights scheduled in March, which made it all but impossible for them to be Floyd’s May 5 dance partner, and those fighters were Martinez and James Kirkland.

Email Doug Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dougiefischer