Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Miguel Cotto set for May 5th

During his licensing hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday in Las Vegas, welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. told the panel under questioning that he had a deal in place to face junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand.

Mayweather was ordered to appear before the commission for a hearing so the commissioners could ask him questions about the criminal case he recently made a plea deal in.

The commissioners are expected to vote on his license application at the hearing.

Mayweather faces an 87-day jail sentence at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas after a plea deal on domestic violence charges related to a September 2010 incident with his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of three of his children.

Mayweather was supposed to begin his sentence on Jan. 6, but the judge in the case, Justice of the Peace Judge Melissa Saragosa, deferred his report date to June 1 after his attorney, Richard Wright, successfully argued that he should be allowed to fight on May 5 in order to honor an existing deal with the MGM Grand and because a Mayweather fight would inject $100 million into the ailing Las Vegas economy.

The deal between Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) and Cotto does not come as surprise. With a much-anticipated fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao off the table at least until the fall, Mayweather-Cotto is widely considered the next biggest fight he could take. Junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was also considered a leading candidate to face Mayweather.

Mayweather-Cotto also means that Pacquiao, who intends to fight June 9, will not be facing Cotto in a rematch. Pacquiao-Cotto II was one of the potential fights Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, had discussed. The leading candidate to face Pacquiao in June is junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr.

Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) had been promoted by Top Rank for his entire career but his contract recently expired. If the fight with Mayweather goes through it will be the first fight of his career without Top Rank's involvement.

Dan Rafael
For the record, Floyd will be challenging Cotto for his 154-pound title. #boxing

Dan Rafael
Commission votes 5-0 to grant Mayweather a one-fight license. Mayweather-Cotto on May 5. It's on. #boxing

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

If they get the networks in a PPV bidding war then they are geniuses.

Floyd late round stoppage.

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

If they get the networks in a PPV bidding war then they are geniuses.

Floyd late round stoppage.

That looks like Haymon's work.

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

If they get the networks in a PPV bidding war then they are geniuses.

Floyd late round stoppage.

That looks like Haymon's work.

Whoevers idea it is its smart.

SlickMoney wrote:I think we all know how this will play out but it'll be interesting to see.

So now Floyd is willing to pay sanctioning fees for Cotto's WBA belt but had no intentions to pay for when he fought Shane?

dmar5143 wrote:

SlickMoney wrote:I think we all know how this will play out but it'll be interesting to see.

So now Floyd is willing to pay sanctioning fees for Cotto's WBA belt but had no intentions to pay for when he fought Shane?

..slick im not sure how that works.i think the champ pays the fees only.

Dan Rafael
RT @FloydMayweather: I'm fighting Miguel Cotto on May 5th because Miss Pac Man is ducking me.

Gumby wrote:No complaints. It should be a good fight. I hope it's at 150-154 and that Pac fights JMM at 147. I'll take Floyd by UD. I doubt he stops Cotto.

SlickMoney wrote:I think we all know how this will play out but it'll be interesting to see.

So now Floyd is willing to pay sanctioning fees for Cotto's WBA belt but had no intentions to pay for when he fought Shane?

Soonermark890 wrote:Boring! I just don't see why anyone is excited about this fight?

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Hagler's Bald Head wrote:

Dan Rafael
Interesting to note that the Mayweather-Cotto press release says the fight will be live on PPV but does not indicate which network. #boxing

If they get the networks in a PPV bidding war then they are geniuses.

Floyd late round stoppage.

That looks like Haymon's work.

Whoevers idea it is its smart.

It might not even be a tactical ploy, it's no secret that Haymon's grasp on HBO is slipping and that he's started to favor Showtime's new exec.

Still Floyd not fighting on HBO seems odd to me.

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Soonermark890 wrote:Boring! I just don't see why anyone is excited about this fight?

Because its at 154 not a catchweight like Pacquiao insisted.

hardcorebee24 wrote:

Soonermark890 wrote:Boring! I just don't see why anyone is excited about this fight?

Because its at 154 not a catchweight like Pacquiao insisted.