Saying he still has two good years left, Miguel Cotto has expressed willingness to face Manny Pacquiao
in a rematch in the event a more lucrative showdown between the Filipino and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. doesn't happen on November 13.Cotto is actually being realistic when interviewed by the Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia regarding a second meeting with Pacquiao, touted today as boxing's best pound-for-pound.
"Who doesn't want to fight Manny Pacquiao?" said Cotto, who had been dealt a stinging 12th-round stoppage late last year. "It's simple, a fight with Manny Pacquiao brings a lot of money."Top Rank chief Bob Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, has this matchup already in mind and the 78-year-old Hall of Fame promoter is expected to make a formal announcement sometime next week should Mayweather decide to sit it out the rest of the year.
Cotto holds what Pacquiao is angling for: The World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-welterweight crown.
Pacquiao has won seven world titles in as many weight classes and winning an eighth would simply legitimize Pacquiao's stature as truly one of the all-time greats, someone who could be mentioned in the same breath as Ali, Louis and Dempsey.
Cotto is coming off a win last June 5 in New York where he crowned himself as the WBO 154-lb king by besting Yuri Foreman.
Turning 30 in October, Cotto believes he can still dish it out until he is 32 although everything would all depend on the outcome of the fights being lined up for him by Arum.
Arum is justifying a Pacquiao-Cotto rematch as something that is worth-watching owing to the prospects of becoming witness to history.
No other fighter has won seven, let alone, eight world titles, giving Arum an alluring alternative in case Mayweather really stands firm in not fighting this year.
Arum is giving Mayweather until late Friday night (late Saturday morning in the Philippines) to make a decision.
Source: mb.com.ph
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