Miguel Cotto was too good for Antonio Margarito in their rematch. And he now would appear to have the world at his disposal.
As Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook wrote about before the fight, Cotto's deal with Top Rank ended with the Margarito fight. He now has a variety of possible options for his next fight and potentially huge payday. From the Bad Left Hook article:
Before the Pacquiao fight, Cotto played a round of golf with Oscar De La Hoya. And in July 2010, he had a meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr in Puerto Rico, the details of which were never made public.
Cotto has connections now. He doesn't need Top Rank, and doesn't need Golden Boy, either. If he wins on Saturday, especially, he is his own star, and his promotional company is a real one that puts on shows, unlike some other vanity labels that other fighters "operate."
He could become a hired gun, a fighter who goes where the money is. Or he could sign with Golden Boy, as he seems to have some relationships there, and let them do most of the heavy lifting. Or he could just wind up signing a new deal with Top Rank, the company that his been his home since he turned pro back in 2001.
Let's look at Cotto's biggest potential options:
- Manny Pacquiao - If Manny can't get a fight done with Floyd Mayweather, and Juan Manuel Marquez shows no interest in bending to Top Rank's rules for a fourth fight, suddenly Cotto becomes an interesting option. Of course, Pacquiao already beat Cotto fairly badly in their first fight but it's still a big money bout. This would require either Top Rank being willing to work with a "free agent" Cotto or Miguel re-signing with the promotional outfit.
- Floyd Mayweather, Jr. - Floyd has a May 5 date all picked out and while they do genuinely want to make a fight with Manny Pacquiao, we've learned that this is not an easy fight to make. While Saul "Canelo" Alvarez called out Floyd and does remain a fairly attractive option, at only 21 years of age it could make more sense to have Mayweather take on Cotto. Signing a new deal with Top Rank would likely kill this fight idea.
- Canelo Alvarez - With the seemingly positive relationship between Golden Boy and Cotto, a deal seems possible to make Cotto vs. Alvarez. They're already in the same weight and the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico storyline always works well. It'd be a true crossroads fight between two men on opposite ends of their careers. Again, there have been rumblings of Floyd vs. Canelo on May 5 which would kill that one.
Right now all these big names are interconnected. Manny wants Floyd, Floyd wants Manny or Canelo, Canelo wants Floyd and Cotto would probably be thrilled for the payday against any of them.
We'll have a much better idea of where things are going within the next month or two.
More Cotto-Margarito Coverage From SBN
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