11.11.07 – By Adrian Saba: After knowing the result of Cotto-Mosley, many Floyd Mayweather fans started dreaming about the next steps of the idol. Assuming he beats Hatton, it would be logical if next year he faced Cotto, who is not only a P4P Top10 but also the Welterweight’s top contender. Recently, Mayweather said that he would not fight Cotto because there was no money in that fight; that is obviously not true, we all know that a Mayweather-Cotto bout would give generous dividends to both fighters and to the promoters.
Cotto had a very competitive fight against Mosley yesterday, and showed some weaknesses that Mayweather will analyze and study, and he may opt to challenge the Puerto Rican –well, only if he beats Ricky Hatton next month, which is not certain–. In 2005, Bob Arum refused the possibilities to materialize a Cotto-Mayweather bout, mainly because Cotto was still young and had a lot to learn.
However, now that has changed, Cotto seems to have reached his physical peak at 147 pounds, and the Mayweather-Cotto fight might be done. It seriously should be the #1 priority.
There is really no clear idea of who will Mayweather face if he defeats Ricky Hatton. Of course that Cotto is very probable, but this is boxing and nothing is guaranteed. His next opponent could be Mosley, or maybe the winner of Cintron-Williams. Cintron is just a common belt holder, I don’t consider him elite and I don’t think it’s necessary for Mayweather to fight him if he has other great fights on the horizon. Paul Williams’ name is much bigger, it is much more provocative, and he has already a quality victory in his resume. If he unifies, it would be a plus, but he still would not have the aura of fighters like Mosley, Cotto, Hatton or even De la Hoya. Maybe more time is needed.
A rematch against De la Hoya would be pointless. De la Hoya even said that there won’t be a rematch, that he felt uncomfortable fighting Mayweather. I think he will keep his word and not fight him again, and he will finally fight Ricky Hatton (undefeated or not) on May 3rd, at Wembley. Oscar said he will announce who he will fight next, but only after Mayweather-Hatton, next month.
What happens if De la Hoya fights Hatton next year and Cotto fights the winner of Cintron-Williams? Who should Mayweather fight? Mosley is an option, of course. For Mayweather, fighting Mosley would not be a bad idea, as he proved that he can still compete with the best and, according to many –not me– , he was the real winner of the fight against Cotto. But it would be unnecessary and there is no doubt that fighting Cotto would be much better because he was the actual winner of the fight, because he is young, because he is in his prime and because he is undefeated. I think there’s much more interest, and money, involved in a fight against Cotto.