BY MARCUS HENRY
The announcement of Oscar De La Hoya - Floyd Mayweather II threw a huge monkey wrench into the welterweight division. It prevented a potential Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto showdown in in the fall. For true boxing fans, watching De La Hoya and Mayweather hook up again is a waste of time.
Click here to see photos of the Cotto-Gomez fight.
For one, the outcome is likely going to be the same. Mayweather is still the best pound-for-pound guy in the sport and De La Hoya is 35. Second, the more a Cotto-Mayweather bout is pushed back, the more of a chance there is that either fighter could lose or maybe sustain an injury.
Had De La Hoya and Mayweather decided not go at it a second time, there is a good chance Cotto would not be fighting Antonio Margarito on July 26. And make no mistake about it, fighting Margarito could be dangerous for Cotto. Margarito, like Cotto, is aggressive and likes to go after the body. And Cotto, as great a puncher as he is, is vulnerable to a body attack. Jab Judah proved it. Margarito scoring a KO over Cotto is not a far-fetched idea. It could happen.
And Margarito is itching to get at Cotto. "They promised me Cotto," Margarito said after his TKO win over Kermit Cintron on Saturday. "And they better deliver him."
There is a flip side to this. A De La Hoya-Mayweather tilt will do well on Pay-Per-View. It won't get 2.15 million buys like it got the first time, but it should eclipse the 1 million-buy plateau, which is still considered the gold standard. Even the weigh-in was a big deal for the first fight as 7,000 people showed up to see it.
And the payout for both fighters will be tremendous. De La Hoya, who also promoted the fight got a reported $45 million. Mayweather's take was somewhere in the $20 to $25 million range. If you are Mayweather, what would you do? Face Cotto in a fight that could damage your legacy or take a huge payday and fight a guy with a name that you know you can beat?
Mayweather is taking a chance by fighting De La Hoya. Cotto could lose, which would leave him no one else to fight. But considering the money he will get from his bout with De La Hoya, it's a good chance to take.
One Top Rank official told me everything is up to Mayweather. "He could have this fight anytime he wanted," the official said. "He's not going to rush."
Comments (4)
Floyd mayweather is scared to face cotto and margarito.mayweather would rather face hatton or Delahoya which he as already beaten.he wants all the top welter weights to cancel each other out so he won't have to fight them.mayweather is bad for boxing.when you no longer want to fight the best you should retire.
There are a lot of people who think Floyd is afraid. I think it's more of him trying to build it into a mega-fight. If Cotto beats Margarito and another quality opponent (Hatton or maybe Paul Williams) in the fall and wins, it would make for a big fight between him and Mayweather in 2009. Looking at it from Floyd's point of view, he won't fight for chump change. Fighting Cotto after he takes care of Margarito and another quality fighter woul drive up the pay day for him.
Thanks for the response.
I think Mayweather is a smart guy. He knows he cannot beat Cotto, so he fights other boxers with big names that he know he can beat and also get a big pay day.
Why fight one fight against Cotto and loose the oportunity to make more money. Remember boxing is also a business.
I think he should fight Cotto last and then retire, unless Cotto gives him a rematch which will make him a lot of money
cotto would get outcllassed buy money. he can't win in a boxing match with the quicker mayweather and his defense is suspect. I predict a mayweather stoppage in round eleven or twelve and against margarito it would be like the castillo rematch except margarito is a little slower. money maayweather pfp the best