Those that are suggesting Cotto will be a walk in the park for Mayweather are very much mistaken. Sure, people will point to the fact that Pacquiao demolished Cotto when they met in 2009, but this is a different Cotto from the Cotto that fought then. For one, this is at 154 not 145, a weight he is comfortable with and a weight Floyd has only fought once at. Cotto also has more experience now after working with Emanuel Steward, and now Pedro Diaz, a Cuban trainer who is renown for working against counter punchers. Both trainers are a far cry from the inexperienced Joe Santiago, who worked with Cotto for the Pacquiao bout. Furthermore, immediately following his defeat against Margarito in their first bout, Cotto was not the same fighter emotionally, a sentiment echoed by his camp and promotional team themselves.
Remember, Cotto is only 31 years old, so it is laughable to suggest he is over the hill. You only have to look at the great fighters of the sport. At 31 years of age, many were still dominating, the most recent being Mayweather and Pacquiao to give two perfect examples. So please, do not base your judgement of Cotto on what Pacquiao did to him in their bout. Whilst Pacquiao should be applauded for his performance that night, all fighters have a stage in their career where they underperform and go through a transitional period. It appears that Cotto is over the worst part of his career. He will be a very tough opponent for Mayweather, who will be facing him at 35 years of age.
The Cinco De Mayo card is really starting to look intriguing, indeed. Of course we will always get the moaners saying that the fight should have happened 3 years ago, but the fight is here now, and with a great undercard. Mosley vs. Alvarez and Winky Wright vs. Quillin, both intriguing matches with the same type of scenario, two up-and-coming guys destined for the top taking on two legends of the sport with possibly one last big night. One absentee I see from the list is Robert Guerrero, who is constantly throwing his name out there to face anybody who draws money. The possibility of getting him on the card would be great business for Golden Boy Promotions.