NEW YORK (AFP) ? Miguel Cotto served notice to Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton that he will be waiting to see how their May 2 showdown in Las Vegas turns out with hopes of a welterweight slugfest against the winner. Puerto Rico’s Cotto stopped Britain’s Michael Jennings in the fifth round Saturday in his first fight since losing to Antonio Margarito. A planned rematch is off because of a one-year glove tampering ban on Margarito. That opens the door for Cotto to meet either Philippines star Pacquiao or England’s Hatton, the division’s top stars in the wake of Floyd Mayweather’s retirement. “The winner of the Hatton-Pacquiao fight, if they want to fight me, I’m here,” Cotto said after improving to 33-1 with 27 knockouts. Cotto, 28, was coming off an eight-month layoff, the longest of his career. He will now wait for promoter Bob Arum, also the promoter for Pacquiao, to see what is next. “I’m open to anything. We want to face the best fighters available and it’s just a question of deciding who we’re going to fight next,” Cotto said. Jennings said he likes the idea of Cotto meeting his countryman Hatton. “It would be a good fight,” Jennings said. “Different styles make for different fights and if Ricky wants some advice from me I would tell him. “But I wouldn’t warn (Hatton) off him, no. At the end of the day, he’s caught me with a good body shot, simple as that. I wasn’t getting smashed.” Whoever Cotto faces next will think twice about fighting him before his passionate crowd of supporters in New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he is 5-0 with three knockouts.
