MANILA, Philippines ? Don?t be surprised if Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto slug it out for the second time somewhere down the road.
Cotto propelled himself into the mix of Pacquiao opponents, at least, late next year or sometime in 2013, by scoring a ninth-round stoppage of Antonio Margarito over the weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Although tops on Cotto?s mind is Floyd Mayweather and even Mexicans Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Saul Alvarez, one can?t discount the posibility of seeing the Puerto Rican banger face off with the Filipino puncher in a rematch.
Even the Puerto Rican media has speculated on the possibility of seeing Pacquiao and Cotto collide again.
Pacquiao had dealt Cotto a stinging 12th-round TKO loss in a welterweight match in Nov. 2009.
But since Cotto now fights at super-welterweight (154 lbs), he might lobby for a catchweight of 150 lbs against Pacquiao, who has only fought once beyond welterweight ? against Margarito ? late last year in Texas.
Since losing to Pacquiao, Cotto has rebounded well and if he continues to rack up a few more wins, he should become a worthy candidate.
Like Cotto, Pacquiao is also angling for a showdown with Mayweather in 2012.
Pacquiao, who turned professional more than 15 years ago, is said he will call it quits at the end of 2013 when he is almost 35 years old.
