I hate to go all Roger Mayweather on you, but you have to understand the business of boxing to understand why it didn’t matter who Cotto faced last Saturday, it just mattered if he looked good.
Just like any other sport Boxing has superstars and those superstars are the ones who bring the money in. It doesn’t mean they are the best fighters in the sport, but marketability can’t be underestimated.
Canelo Alvarez and Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr aren’t as talented as Andre Ward, but when it comes down to dollars and cents, they generate revenue.
Cotto is a revenue generator, but he had to prove to the casual fan (the ones who drive the revenue) that he wasn’t washed up after two straight losses (Mayweather & Trout). He did that and now he is in line to have a massive event in 2014.
It could be Canelo Alvarez or Sergio Martinez, but there is only one cash king of boxing right now and that is Floyd Mayweather, so it isn’t surprising that Freddie Roach would want that fight for Cotto.
“Miguel is ready to go against Mayweather,” Roach said after Saturday’s fight. “He is in the best shape of his career. He returned to the style that he needed to go back to, and as Miguel said last week, if I had been in his corner for his fight against Mayweather, he would have won.”
Cotto lost a clear, but competitive decision to Mayweather, the keyword being competitive. Unlike, Mayweather’s recent opponents Robert Guerrero and Canelo Alvarez, Mayweather had to work for his victory against Cotto. It was a massive PPV success with over 1.5 million PPV buys.
There is a built in storyline for another huge promotion and since Cotto is a promotional free agent he can fight whoever he likes on whatever network he chooses.
Mayweather for his part has beaten his recent opponents so convincingly, it will be a hard sell if he fights an Amir Khan or Danny Garcia.
Cotto can still fight Canelo or Martinez after fighting Mayweather, but he would be hard press to get a rematch with Mayweather if he were to lose to Canelo or Martinez.
If I had to bet on it currently, you will see Mayweather vs. Cotto 2 on May 3rd 2014.