My last reply somehow got deleted before I could post it
I'm not trying to defend Cotto - Gomez, because like JT says the fight is a crock of shit and nothing more than a gimme for Cotto. I like both fighters, but I don't buy the justification that this fight will expose Cotto to a larger market of "casual" boxing fans. The 1st Contender show took place 3 years ago, had poor ratings, and any "casual" fans that the show attracted have long since become ligitimate boxing fans or have forgotten about the sport and the fighters from the show entirely.
The criticism that PBF receives for his choice of opposition is due to the fact that he proclaims himself to be not only the best current boxer (which very few will debate), but also the best boxer ever. This opens him up to all of the criticism about his choice of opposition, which I think is fair - if PBF wants to be considered the best boxer of all time, he (and his fans) are going to have to justify it accordingly. Also, Cotto seems to be much more well-liked than PBF in regards to his public image, which certainly softens any criticism he would recieve about his opposition.