by James Slater: You can bet your bottom dollar Floyd Mayweather Junior will be watching Saturday’s hugely anticipated Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight somewhere. Mayweather may be retired, but his interest in boxing has not faded to the point where he will fail to tune in for this one. The question is, will Floyd be able to resist the urge to make a comeback and fight the winner – especially if that winner turns out to be the man who was seen as his biggest threat at 147-pounds for quite some time, in the mighty Cotto?
Cotto himself said, at a press conference to further publicise his fight with Margarito, that in years to come people will ask Mayweather why he wouldn’t fight the Puerto Rican, and that Mayweather will have to come up with some answer or another. Will this be the case, then, or will “Money” feel the need to try and take care of the one opponent he has not yet faced? A proud fighter underneath his flashy image, the unbeaten great from Grand Rapids is surely all too aware of the knock his legacy will receive in the years to come if he has not fought Cotto.
I believe, that if Cotto beats “Tony” on Saturday, and then remains both unbeaten and at 147-pounds, Mayweather will be unable to resist coming out of retirement to face him. The fight would be huge, and Mayweather – a born business man, as well as a boxer – knows this. How would he be able to live with himself were he to let such a massive opportunity pass him by? Bottom line, the fight is a necessity and Mayweather knows it.
Of course, all this talk is doing the teak-tough warrior from Tijuana, Mexico a disservice. For Margarito may well do as he says he will and beat Cotto at the weekend. This would take away the clamour for any Cotto-Mayweather bout. But would the man formerly known as “Pretty Boy” feel the same enthusiasm for getting it on with the Mexican hard man? Probably not. I’m not saying Mayweather would choose to avoid Margarito, it’s just that because of his unbeaten record, the fact that his name has been linked with his for some time now (as has Margarito’s, to a slightly lesser extent) and because of his marketability, Cotto would present an all too obvious and mega-event occasion for Floyd.
Just imagine the event! Both men would be entering the ring unbeaten, both after having conquered at least a couple of weight divisions between them, both would be able to participate in the war or words as they both speak English, and both would go in having a legitimate claim to being the best in the world, pound-for-pound. Antonio Margarito, despite his genuine prowess as a fighter, would not bring as much to the party in a bout with Mayweather.
This doesn’t mean the 30-year-old Mexican will lose on Saturday, not by any means. It’s just that if he does upset Cotto, “Tony” will not be as hugely an appealing retirement-breaker for Mayweather as a victorious Miguel Cotto would have done. For what it’s worth, this writer feels Cotto will emerge the winner on Saturday – with a close and utterly thrilling points triumph.
You can then bet your bottom dollar that Mayweather, after having watched the fight, will announce how he is coming back to take care of some unfinished business! Cotto-Mayweather WILL happen some time in 2009.