Floyd Mayweather Jr. could eventually decide to face Miguel Cotto on Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 2 instead of colliding with Manny Pacquiao in a super showdown, reports indicated.
Cotto, the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion, was previously linked to a showdown against Saul Alvarez, but Golden Boy Promotions announced that they are now looking at other possible opponents for Canelo after failing to finalize a fight against the Puerto Rican champion.
According to Dan Rafael, a well-known boxing analyst from ESPN, Canelo's decision to pull out from the talks for the Cotto fight increased the probability of a rematch between Mayweather and Cotto.
Mayweather scored a convincing unanimous decision victory against Cotto in their super welterweight title fight in May 2012. While Mayweather is not to open to giving an opponent a rematch especially if he won convincingly, the reigning pound-for-pound king's camp is reportedly intrigued about the idea of facing Cotto because of his world title.
A victory against Cotto will make Mayweather a six-division world champion. He will also hold world titles in three different divisions simultaneously should he defeat Cotto, adding the WBC middleweight belt to his WBC welterweight and junior middleweight titles.
Gaby PeñagarÃcano, Cotto's adviser, denied that there are ongoing talks about a Mayweather-Cotto rematch, but he admitted that influential adviser Al Haymon reached out to him late last year about their interest.
At this point, Mayweather and his camp are still reportedly in talks with Top Rank Promotions for the long-awaited bout against Pacquiao. Recent reports indicated that the fight will surely happen on May 2, but Mayweather denied reports suggesting that his May 2 bout against Pacquiao is close to being finalized.
"I've been saying this for a long time, Pacquiao has no say because he fights for Top Rank Promotions," Mayweather said in an interview with 'The Whoolywood Shuffle' on Wednesday. "He's not in a position to call the shots right now; he's not the A-side. I have Mayweather Promotions, it's my company."
Pacquiao recently said that they have already agreed to all terms set by Mayweather's camp, including a 60-40 split on fight purse. Pacquiao's camp also agreed to undergo random drug testing, insisting that they are willing to do anything just to give boxing fans the fight that they have been asking for.
But when asked about Pacquiao's recent statement, Mayweather said that he is hoping the fight will happen in May, but he reiterated that the fight is not yet close to being finalized.
"We have been going back and forth communicating with their team. Hopefully we can make this fight happen," Mayweather said. "Pacquiao said he had agreed to everything but what did he agree to? He has no say."
