Floyd Mayweather’s May 5 opponent will be Miguel Cotto, Golden Boy Promotions announced Wednesday. Not Manny Pacquiao. "Miss PacMan is ducking me," Mayweather said.
And not Robert Guerrero, who seemed like Mayweather's perfect backup choice until the more accomplished Puerto Rican stepped in. It seems like everyone has a good date for the welterweight prom but “The Ghost” from Gilroy – unless Juan Manuel Marquez stops ducking him..
Cotto, a former welterweight champion, is a very credible opponent for Mayweather, so no complaint there. Cotto and Mayweather have both been floating between welterweight and junior middleweight, so they’re physically well matched. And they’re close in age, although Cotto is worse for wear, maybe far worse.
There’s an even better matchup for Pacquiao in 140-pound kingpin Timothy Bradley in the works, but there’s still no deal there. Word is that Pacquiao wants that fight staged at a higher weight than 140.
Guerrero-Pacquiao, a battle of left-handers, has long seemed intriguing. Guerrero still is seen by some as a poor man’s Pacquiao and he’d have a chance to prove he’s more than that. It’s a matchup that Pacquiao can carry as attraction. But it doesn’t seem to be in the works.
Guerrero-Bradley wouldn’t sell the way it ought to. That fight would make sense in San Jose, where Guerrero could make the local gate look good, and HBO presumably would televise it. That was the plan last August when Guerrero was to fight Marcos Maidana – until Guerrero suffered a shoulder injury from which he has just about recovered. But it’s not a very attractive proposition for Bradley.
Maidana is fighting 2011 Bradley victim Devon Alexander on Feb. 25, so that rules those two out for Guerrero until summer.
Amir Khan-Guerrero is an attractive fight (although Khan-Marquez would be much bigger), and sooner or later Robert is going to have to stand up to a taller guy who can match his speed. But Guerrero needs to prove to more people that he’s a full fledged junior welterweight, which beating Marquez would fully accomplish, before most of these matchups can reach their maximum appeal, and especially the one with Khan.
Lamont Peterson, who eked out a dubious decision win over Khan last fall, is a somewhat attractive foe for Guerrero, but their HBO headline appeal is perhaps less than acceptable to the cable behemoth.
Victor Ortiz is looking for an opponent since Andre Berto’s shoulder injury this week dashed their Feb. 11 match. If he can’t be matched up against his boyhood pal Brandon Rios, what about the more recent ally Guerrero?
Or what about Rios vs. Guerrero? That’s a great match for Guerrero but maybe a no-win prospect for an unbeaten fighter like Rios.
With none of these matchups quite right (except for Marquez or maybe Pacquiao), don’t be surprised to see Guerrero lay out until summer, letting his shoulder heal and his opposition become ideal.
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