Miguel Cotto will choose the best deal

By Rey Colón -The Sport Press

The free agent status of WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) will allow him to choose the best offer from Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao, who continue to publicly discuss through their advisors and promoter Bob Arum whether or not they will face off May 5 or June 9. Given the refusal of Mayweather Jr. to accept a 50-50 purse split while Pacquiao insists on this condition, all roads lead to Cotto, who after them is the biggest ‘pay per view’ seller in the division, therefore his name is the first option.

Cotto will listen to the offer of the Mayweather Jr. group and then give an opportunity to Arum, who was his promoter since he debuted ten years ago and whose contract expired on December 31. He will then evaluate the bids and choose the most attractive and lucrative.

Arum and Cotto have met several times in recent months but reached no agreement. The CEO of Top Rank is said to have offered three fights (Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. and Chavez Jr.) on the condition he re-signed with the company.

However, Cotto wants to continue as a free agent and negotiate fight-to-fight, so it’s possible that Golden Boy Promotions, which has ties to Mayweather Jr., will make a lucrative offer for a May 5 bout which must be overcome by Arum if he wants Cotto to face Pacquiao on June 9.

It is expected that next week the ‘boxing triangle’ will comes to a head.

January 21st, 2012

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