Al Bello - Getty Images
Miguel Cotto won't be bullied in negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao for a second time. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Miguel Cotto's adviser Gaby Peñagarícano tells BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno that a potential fight with Manny Pacquiao in June is far from a slam dunk proposal from the Team Cotto side, and that they have not yet met with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to discuss anything:
"[Arum] wants to talk about a potential fight for Miguel, but I don't know which fight that's going to be. It might be Pacquiao, it might be Chavez Jr., we don't know right now. ... A hypothetical scenario, is that, if we were offered a fight with Pacquiao, that fight would not be at 147. ... Without knowing the financial platform for the fight, it would not be at 147, from Miguel's perspective."
Word from the enormous and multi-leveled Pacquiao camp is that he won't fight Cotto over 147 pounds (I never know who to pay attention to from Team Pacquiao), and this statement from Team Cotto could be a bluff that can be called. Cotto holds a title at 154, but Pacquiao has already won a bogus belt at that weight, so that would not be any sort of lure to bring him on board for, say, a 150-pound catchweight. Manny's the money man here, not Cotto. It's not like they're going to fight in New York.
What this could also mean is that Cotto and his team aren't dying to make this fight. I'm sure for the right deal it's highly attractive to them, but they may well hold firm. Miguel can make money in other fights. Very good money. He doesn't need a Pacquiao rematch to pad his retirement fund, really.
[ Related: Roach, Fans Prefer Bradley to Cotto Rematch ]
There's a pretty good chance that Cotto sees a potential Chavez fight in July, which Top Rank wants and is a fight they've been trying to put together for over a year, as simply a better fit: He'd be more likely to win, he'd make very good money, he could take the "0" from a hyped second generation star, and he could pick up a title in a fourth weight class if he were to take a belt off of Chavez at 160.
And don't forget, Miguel Cotto is no longer tied to Top Rank, no longer at the mercy of which promoters they will or will not do business with, and there have been reports that Cotto is negotiating for a fight with Canelo Alvarez, the 21-year-old Golden Boy phenom who also holds a title at 154 pounds. And Floyd Mayweather Jr has mentioned Cotto -- bluff or not, that could be a wild card option.
0 recs | 14 comments
not buying into this at all, cotto v alvarez is far more interesting.
Bald-Eagle - January 17, 2012 via mobile
Yeah, that’;s the fight I want to see.
I was watching ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe, and Juan Manuel Marquez is always in that show (I’m not sure if he’s a regular host or he’s just there a lot, but every time I watch the show he’s there) and they had Cotto as a guest. The host asked both Marquez and Cotto if they would fight each other. Cotto said that he would be willing, that they just had to sit down and get the terms right. And then Marquez said the same thing, though he did mention the weight. He said something like: “I think there’s a bit of a gap in terms of weight”
I think it was mostly just two guys being good sports, but it was interesting that they brought that option up.
Apprentice - January 17, 2012
My preferences for Cotto
1) Alvarez
2) Mayweather
3) JCC
4) Pacquiao
TheBod - January 17, 2012
"I never know who to pay attention to from Team Pacquiao"
Only Buboy..
erod - January 17, 2012
People I hate in boxing in no particular order:
- Buboy
- Ellerbe
- Arum
- Koncz
- Ariza
- Haymon
I greatly dislike
- De la Hoya
- Schaefer
- Shaw
These are the ones that come to mind right now.
Apprentice - January 17, 2012
Buboy? Can you understand anything he says? I don’t mean that facetiously. I mean how do you hate a guy who you don’t have any idea what the hell he is saying.
Manuwar - January 18, 2012
GOOD
GooD for you Cotto, they jerked you in the first fight by having you place your welterweight title on the line but not allowing you to fight at welter. Make him come to 150 atleast, that’s where he fought Margocheato and that’s where they fight you..,,period.
BOXING MACHINE - January 17, 2012 via mobile
Yea. Why not fight Cotto @ 150? Why not fight him @ 147 originially, instead of the catchweight>?
It’s the small things like the catch-weights, and the “scheduling conflicts”, and the aversion to needles, and the JMM “Wins” that always stick out in my mind about Pac. He’s an awesome fighter but stuff like that leaves a bit of a lasting impression for me when the legions of Pac-Man fans praise him like an unstoppable God of war. W/e tho. If the fight happens, I’d definitely prefer it to be at a weight more fair to Cotto, who’s fought his last few @ JrMW.
Loot - January 17, 2012
I agree
Plus, Manny is looking less impressive as of late, and I feel Team Manny is going to have to give up past liberties to some fighters, unless they will end up fighting someone who is a greater challenge than the guys he previously beat.
Clove_art - January 17, 2012
cotto vs alvarez big money fight for the ring belt..mexican vs rican..why not?
cotto vs chavez? i think jcc jr would be to go big and dude struggles to make 160..im sure cotto aint fighing jr without a catchweight..the 4th division belt is interesting but just like we get on pacman for them and winning bogus belts..we would have to get on cotto.
cotto vs mayweather? id watch if pac and floyd doesnt happen
cotto vs pac/ not really interested unless its 150 or above.
Vicmatic1 - January 17, 2012
I agree. chavez is too big for cotto and I doubt chavez can make a catchweight.
KidSleez - January 17, 2012 via Android app
I agree with this too.
Apprentice - January 17, 2012
pacman was -250 for the first fight
if they fought at 154, id have that line even closer for this one
nickfoxx - January 17, 2012
I wish Cotto didn’t take that fight then. He was in his physical prime or close to it but had just such a terrible game plan. If he had trained with the team he has now I think he could have won that fight. He was seriously hurting Pac in the first 4 rounds.
Manuwar - January 18, 2012
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