Mosley, Berto in The Running For Miguel Cotto in June

I just read this article I was searching for news on Cotto and this is what I found

Top Rank’s Bob Arum will not rule out any of the top names for Miguel Cotto’s planned ring return on June 13. Cotto was originally going to face Antonio Margarito in a rematch, but those plans were scrapped when the California State Athletic Commission revoked Margarito’s license to box on Tuesday, making him unavailable for at least a year. Margarito had his license revoked after the commission ruled that his hand wraps contained a foreign substance. The substance was discovered in Margarito’s hand wraps about thirty-minutes before he entered the ring to fight Shane Mosley on January 24.
Arum doesn’t want to look to far ahead. Cotto still has to deal with Michael Jennings on February 21 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. He plans to sit down with Cotto after the Jennings fight and look over all of the possible names. He won’t exclude anyone, including welterweight champions Andre Berto and Shane Mosley.
“We'll see what makes the most sense. We will be looking at the rankings. We will look at the other champions. A lot of that will depend on where the fight is going to be. If its in The Garden, on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, then we will go in one direction. If it won’t be there, then we will go in another direction. We know all the names in the welterweight division. We are not excluding anyone,” Arum said.
Mosley is the opponent that makes the most sense on paper, but Arum says that he may not make the most sense to Cotto’s wallet. Cotto won a decision over Mosley in 2007, Margarito knocked Cotto out in July and then Mosley knocked out Margarito last month. Arum would rather go with a fighter like Berto because it means more money to Cotto. A Mosley rematch would mean less money for Cotto because Arum feels, and he’s probably right, that Mosley will demand at least a 50-50 split or more.
“He may not make the most economic sense to Miguel. There might be a fight, that economically, makes more sense. We are going to get Miguel the biggest fight with the most money,” Arum said.
Cotto doesn’t seem to care who the opponent will be.
“That’s never been my job. They present me with choices and tell me which is the best one. If Mosley is the next guy then he’s the next guy,” Cotto said.

Andre Berto would make a great replacement for Antonio Margarito, Cotto vs Berto = : )

Sweet!

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Sweet!

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You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

Berto was making claims he'd like to have that date for a fight with Cotto long before the decision came down. Me thinks most everyone in the know, in fact knew what was coming.

Either guy would work for me, but hey, let's see Cotto on his next time out. The sport as much as it is about talent, conditioning, experience...it is also about your mind. I hope for a good showing from Miguel, and I'll start speculating his next best match after this next one is done.

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Originally Posted by boricua

Andre Berto would make a great replacement for Antonio Margarito, Cotto vs Berto = : )

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I think the same Boricua , a fight with Mosley is more interesting at this moment IMO , also with Clotey , but Arum commented teleconferences yesterday that Mosley isn't the guy who could fight in June with Cotto just by economical reason , not at this time yet ............................

Cotto should just worry about the Jennings fight in the Garden right now

Does anybody think Cotto needs a new promoter?

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Originally Posted by boricua

Does anybody think Cotto needs a new promoter?

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You know what boricua , to me is embarrass to see a Promoter giving support to a boxer cheating , he probably would have his interest , but that doesn't look good , this also to me is antiethical in Sport of boxing........

I dont know how long Cotto is under Arum contract , but is preferable when finish contract , change for a new promoter ............:-\

Cotto - Mosley 2 is a fight that needs to happen.

I don't feel Berto is ready for Cotto yet.

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Originally Posted by CFH

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Sweet!

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You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

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Cotto would tear him a new one IMO.

Mosley has more than earned A rematch with Cotto.Very interested to see how Cotto returns and what Jennings will have to offer??No doubt that a Cotto/Mosley rematch should happen after Cotto mops the deck with Jennings.

I think both beat Berto at this point.Ecspecially Mosley,He can play that physical rought stuff that Berto falls into on the inside.

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Originally Posted by CFH

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Sweet!

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You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

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As ready as he will ever be. I really like Cotto as well, I think they would produce a kick ass fight. Both are tough, take shots to land shots, both have personality in their styles, both can bang.

He's turning 26 this year, Roy already fought Hopkins and Toney by this point in his life, Mayweather already fought Castillo and Corrales, G.Hernandez way before this.

I understand the dilemna a lot critics have of Berto, I really do, but I believe/hope when he fighting at his best that most of them aren't there, but for that to happen he really needs to be able to expand those pockets of brilliance into a whole fight, and maintain that high level of execution without falling into traps he probably gets away with in the gym like squaring up/winging shots.

Personally, I am tired with what I consider contenders(guys without the ring belt in a division) holding on to the facades they consider valuable trinkets fighting "mandatory fights" instead of trying to test their mettle against the best in the division. I believe Berto has the same manager as Lacy, and probably the guy doesn't want to have another Calzaghe-Lacy, but you can only hold a guy back for so long.

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Originally Posted by Taeth

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Originally Posted by CFH

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Sweet!

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You really think Berto is ready for Cotto?

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As ready as he will ever be. I really like Cotto as well, I think they would produce a kick ass fight. Both are tough, take shots to land shots, both have personality in their styles, both can bang.

He's turning 26 this year, Roy already fought Hopkins and Toney by this point in his life, Mayweather already fought Castillo and Corrales, G.Hernandez way before this.

I understand the dilemna a lot critics have of Berto, I really do, but I believe/hope when he fighting at his best that most of them aren't there, but for that to happen he really needs to be able to expand those pockets of brilliance into a whole fight, and maintain that high level of execution without falling into traps he probably gets away with in the gym like squaring up/winging shots.

Personally, I am tired with what I consider contenders(guys without the ring belt in a division) holding on to the facades they consider valuable trinkets fighting "mandatory fights" instead of trying to test their mettle against the best in the division. I believe Berto has the same manager as Lacy, and probably the guy doesn't want to have another Calzaghe-Lacy, but you can only hold a guy back for so long.

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I agree with all this. However, if Cotto looks good against Jennings, then I have serious doubts that Berto's management will put him against Cotto in a packed MSG that will be heavily made up of Cotto fans.
I think Mosley is the most likely guy to face Cotto at this point.

The thing is if Berto wants to continue taking steps up in competition where else can he go, I mean I would be hesitant to call Cintron, Judah or Clottey even lateral movements in comparison to the caliber that Collazo is.

Of the guys at the top of the WW division, Margarito is out for at least a year, and the wrong style for Berto IMO, at least until he stops opening up, it seems Paul Williams isn't fighting at WW anymore. Both Mosley and Cotto are on a similar level, but at least againt Cotto IMO his odds are better because at the very least if I am totally overrating his skills which I don't think I am he has a punchers chance which nobody has against Mosley who has an imprenetrable jaw when it comes to punches at least. Cotto is vulnerable to Berto's best punch, the right uppercut, and Berto has a huge speed advantage on him. Mosley is impossible to hurt(Barring a headbutt), he's very fast and still has good reflexes, he isn't as natural of a fighter as Cotto, but like he showed against Collazo he can still box on the outside if he needs to.

I would like to see Berto go up against Quintana & then maybe Clottey (although a dangerous low-reward fight possibly) before stepping up to face one of the big boys. Then again if Cotto looks a bit fucked against Jennings, he should get it whilst he can, but I don't see that being the case although a year/18 months from now I could see Berto possibly beating them both

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

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Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

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Originally Posted by RozzySean

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

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Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

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You might be right, but I think Taeth's point was that Berto needs to make a clear leap up to the next tier of opponents, and Quintana isn't significantly better than Collazo, and he might not be better than Collazo at all.
Berto needs to enter the Cotto/Mosley level of opponents.

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Originally Posted by SweetPea

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Originally Posted by RozzySean

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

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Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

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You might be right, but I think Taeth's point was that Berto needs to make a clear leap up to the next tier of opponents, and Quintana isn't significantly better than Collazo, and he might not be better than Collazo at all.
Berto needs to enter the Cotto/Mosley level of opponents.

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Berto might be ready to step up to Cotto or Mosley, but it can only benefit him to take another Collazo/Quintana level bout or two. Let's face it, he just took a big leap up in class with the Collazo fight. He got by Collazo, but it wasn't by much. Cotto probably had 5 or 6 fights against B+ fighters before he finally got in the ring with the highest echelon.

If Berto had blown out Collazo, I would be screaming for a fight between him and Cotto or Mosley, but I think it would help him in the long run to fight a few more Collazo/Clottey/Quintana level guys before jumping into the deepest water. I'm not sure it's good for him to take back to back "step up" fights. A few more at-bats at AAA will help him be a better big-league hitter.

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Originally Posted by RozzySean

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Originally Posted by Taeth

Quintana might be an alright opponent for Berto, but only because he is somewhat of a puncher and Berto hasn't faced that yet. Quintana isn't better than Collazo, nor is Clottey, sure Berto could fight them, but I want to see how he stacks up against the best in the division not against guys who are consistently in the second tier(at least when looking at the welterweight division).

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Quintana is managed to beat Williams and I'm not sure Collazo could have pulled that one off on his best night.

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Its hard to say, but I think Williams is very poor defensively, and a lot of people could beat him that people wouldn't expect. Also Quintana sure didn't beat him the second time around, or posed a challenge of any sort to Cotto.

Berto vs Cotto hopefully happens in June

I'd prefer to see Berto-Collazo rematch.