While the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes is far from over, there is growing speculation that the Pac Man will choose fellow Top Rank product, Miguel Cotto, as his next opponent.
There had been some speculation that Cotto would instead be fed to Floyd Mayweather Jr. In reference to a ?Money? fight, Bob Arum recently told the Manilla Standard, ?they are not going to get him.? No, Arum has other plans for Cotto.
It?s not a colossal revelation that Arum doesn?t want Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on May 5th, citing a Pac Man cut and venue problems. So with the matchup everyone wants again sitting on the back-burner, its back to spin time for the Arum camp as they shuffle towards picking a ?viable? alternative. Cotto, Lamont Peterson, Juan Manuel Marquez (again), and timothy Bradley remain the popular choices?but in reality are matchups that the general public is less than excited about.
Yes, Arum knows how to milk out money matches. Why give Cotto to Mayweather when he can milk out more cash first with a Pacquiao bout? The two battled in 2009, and Pacquiao slugged his way to victory while bringing in huge pay-per-view revenue. ?Junito? has gone 3-0 since then, besting the likes of Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga, and Antonio Margarito. Following the Margarito thrashing last month, the 31 year old Cotto?s stock is as high as ever, making it prime time to throw him to Pacquiao.
It?s all planned folks, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather isn?t happening?.at least not in May. The continue hype has kept both Manny and Floyd in the news, but we?re no closer to seeing the mega fight than before. Remember when promoters went out of their way to give fight fans the matchups they wanted to see? And people wonder why MMA is overtaking Boxing in ratings and popularity?..It?s all about credibility and marketability, and Pacquiao vs. Cotto II lacks both. Been there, done that??It wasn?t close the first time and quite frankly it lacks the appeal of a ?super-fight?. Try again Bob, because we?re not buying it.
