"It will be a challenge for me to fight Miguel at this weight, but this will be the test that will motivate me to train harder. I have no doubt that my collection of belts will increase again and Cotto's reign will end on May 5," stated undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather as he spoke at today's press conference in Puerto Rico to announce his long-awaited showdown with WBA jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. While both fighters showed mutual respect for each other, Mayweather made it clear that the oucome on May 5th will be no different than it's been in his 42 fights prior to facing Cotto.
"To be the best in the sport, you must face the best. Miguel Cotto is one of the best fighters in the sport of boxing today," Mayweather noted. "It would only be right for them to support their fighter, but when it comes down to it, when it comes down to the come down, one man has to rise to the occassion and that will be me. It's just another day, so they can scream and root for him because that's the right thing to do, but when God is on your side, you will always rise."
This will be the second time that Mayweather has moved up in weight to challenge a 154-pound champion, the first being in 2007 when he defeated 10-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya to capture the WBC jr. middleweight title. In fact, it was Mayweather who first moved up in weight to the 147-pound and 154-pound divisions, with Cotto following him soon after. Both men share common opponents in Justin Juuko, Victoriano Sosa, DeMarcus Corley, Zab Judah, and Shane Mosley, but it was Cotto who presumably had the better performances against them, stopping all of them except Mosley, whereas Mayweather was only able to put away Juuko. It will be interesting to see if the fact that the fight is taking place at jr. middleweight will play a factor.
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