Margarito or Cotto, who sells better against Pacquiao in November? -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

Bob Arum recently announced that if Manny Pacquiao chooses to take on Antonio Margarito as his next opponent, the fight will indeed be for a light middleweight title.

The newly vacated WBC title to be precise, which Sergio Martinez vacated to pursue fights at middleweight.

The news puts Margarito back on a more or less even footing with Miguel Cotto, the other potential opponent for Pacquiao in November should Floyd Mayweather decide not to fight.

Not long ago it looked as if Margarito was nearly out of the running following the set back he suffered in trying to become licensed to fight in the United States.

The major appeal in seeing Pacquiao take on Cotto again was the fact that it would be at junior middleweight, and that Cotto's WBA belt would be on the line. Giving the Filipino the chance to win an unprecedented 8th title in an 8th weight.

Aside from that and the fact that Cotto now has a new trainer, seeing the pair square off once more wasn't that appealing to most fans. Given that the first fight wasn't really that competitive past the early rounds.

Emmanuel Steward stepping in as Cotto's main trainer seemed to have sharpened him up when winning his title against Yuri Foreman last month, but whether he will be able to make enough of a difference to make a second fight with Pacquiao closer is debatable.

Margarito might be fairly similar to Cotto in terms of what he's achieved in his career, the tampered hand wrap scandal being a particular low point. But he does present some fresh challenges that Cotto does not.

Although he doesn't always tend to use it, Margarito would have a sizable height advantage against Pacquiao, standing 5,11 to his 5,6. The same height in fact as former WBA light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman. When a potential fight against Foreman was being discussed, Pacquiao's team mentioned his height as a concern.

The only other potential issue facing Margarito is that he still does not have a license to fight in the United States, although that will likely be resolved in the near future. Going before the NSAC, Margarito's application for a license was tabled. Meaning that the commission wouldn't rule on the issue until the CSAC (the commission that originally suspended him) had made a decision.

Also both Bob Arum and Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz have spoken at length in the press recently about the different venues bidding to host the current WBO welterweight's next bout. So it might be the case that a license in the United States isn't so much of an issue. Although as Mike Marley says in his latest piece, this could just be 'promoter talk' to put pressure on Floyd Mayweather.

Of course the best option all round is still for Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather and for Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito face each other. This of course depends on whether the Mayweather and Pacquiao fight gets put together, whcih at the moment is looking far from certain.

Source: examiner.com