Miguel Cotto isn't Manny Pacquiao, but Floyd Mayweather's fans, haters likely to tune in

David Mayo | By David Mayo | The Grand Rapids Press
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on May 01, 2012 at 6:00 AM, updated May 02, 2012 at 5:54 AM

LAS VEGAS -- On the occasion of Floyd Mayweather's 20th championship fight week, only the work ethic remains the same. His namesake father isn't his trainer anymore, his uncle is, and Roger Mayweather's diabetes is causing his eyesight to fail. The fighter is counting down to the end of his career, rather than plotting ways to advance it, and stands on the soles of his boxing boots when he fights now, a defensive wizard whose skills don't abandon him in the pocket, which is how champions of his rare ability persevere unbeaten until Father Time, or a chin check, finally dents his pristine record.

The kids around the gym are getting older.

Everyone else is just getting old.

There are bountiful reasons not to tune in when Miguel Cotto defends his championship Saturday against Grand Rapids native Mayweather. Of the top five reasons, the first three are that it isn't Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. The fourth is that Mayweather is about a 6-to-1 favorite, so the I-Hate-Floyd masses probably won't get his long-awaited comeuppance; and the fifth is that $69.99 price tag to watch in HD at home.

Some will buy because of the Buster Douglas factor. No one wants to miss it when the downfall happens. If Mayweather someday is left on the canvas, trying to stick in his mouthpiece, like Tyson was when counted out against Douglas, it will be on every HBO Sports promo for the next decade.

Still others will buy for the novelty of watching how Mayweather responds to the rigors of a championship fight with a jail term looming on June 1, when he begins serving 87 days in a domestic misdemeanor plea deal, likely to be 57 days in actuality.

It might prove more interesting how he comes out of jail, rather than how he goes on, because his preparation is the one thing that hasn't wavered in 20 championship camps.

"I've never overlooked a guy, never taken a guy lightly," Mayweather said. "You've seen how I train. I'm preparing myself, mentally and physically, for war."

Mayweather and Cotto have followed a similar path, with five common opponents, which isn't quite so remarkable when their shared ex-bonds with promoter Top Rank are taken into account.

They fought on the same card in 2003, in Fresno, Calif., where Mayweather won a decision over Victoriano Sosa. Less than a year later, Cotto knocked out Sosa. By 2005, a fight between them was brewing. But Mayweather won his first pay-per-view main event that summer, against Arturo Gatti, and the marketability chasm between he and Cotto never closed.

That divide continues to this day, although Cotto has maintained a level just behind Mayweather and Pacquiao, the latter of whom already handed him one of his two losses. Last year, the promotional divide was eliminated when Cotto's contract with Top Rank expired. He and Mayweather reached terms quickly, including making the fight at 154 pounds, a weight at which Mayweather fought only once, against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

Cotto wants a brawl. Mayweather of yesteryear might have responded with a dancing exhibition. He doesn't do that much anymore. At 35, there is some question whether he can.

"If I've got to box, I can box and move," he said, in protest. "I can box easy. If I've got to. If that's needed. It really hasn't been needed."

What is needed is Mayweather-Pacquiao. Boxing is suffering because of them. Rolling Stone magazine even balked. A lengthy story on Mayweather appears on newsstands, but he didn't get the cover, as expected previously. If Mayweather-Pacquiao had been brewing, that might have bumped the prevailing cover subject, President Obama.

Surely someone nicknamed Money understands.

As for boxing's throne, Mayweather reiterated that he wants to fight again this year, part of his time frame to cram in another half-dozen bouts, including Saturday's. Virtually everyone wants Pacquiao to be one of those.

Money stands in the way, and that isn't a reference to Mayweather's moniker, though some would argue it's apt.

Both sides can make a case on Mayweather's refusal to yield a 50-50 split. To the general public, it's just becoming background noise.

"I want to fight Manny Pacquiao," Mayweather said. "But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I'm comfortable. I can't fight everybody."

The question, when it comes to pushing the buy button Saturday, is whether the general public is comfortable with it.

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