COTTO PONDERS PACQUIAO, MARGARITO, CHAVEZ JR. FOR 2011 RETURN

By Tim Harrison WBA jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO) has big plans for 2011.  After turning down potential December 4, 2011 matchups with Vanes Martirosyan and Kermit Cintron, Cotto decided to return in the early part of 2011.   Cotto was originally in talks with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to headline Top Rank’s “Latin Fury” pay-per-view card on December 4.  It would have been a high-profile matchup between two stars from Puerto Rico and Mexico.  Chavez turned down the fight, however, and Cotto decided against the two lesser opponents in Martirosyan and Cintron. "At this point in his career, Miguel Cotto is more focused on being selective and fighting the biggest fights out there that are available to him. With respect to Kermit and Vanes, unfortunately, they did not represent that." Cotto’s legal advisor Gabriel Penagaricano would tell FanHouse’s Lem Satterfield. It has been reported that Cotto would like to explore rematches with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito, or give it a second try at negotiations for a fight with Chavez.  Pacquiao and Margarito each stopped Cotto in their respective fights.   Despite the unlikely possibility of a different outcome in a rematch with Pacquiao, the fight would probably still draw very well, given the fan bases of each fighter.  Fan interest in a rematch with Margarito should also be very high.  Despite a lack of evidence, it is widely believed that Margarito, who was caught with an illegal plaster-like substance on his handwraps prior to his January 2009 fight with Shane Mosley, may have enlisted the same illegal tactics in his fights with Cotto.  Fans of Cotto would love to see justice dished out, while supporters of Margarito want to see their man prove the world wrong and repeat his valiant accomplishment.

credits: officialscorecard.com