Floyd Mayweather Will Face Miguel Cotto in May 5th Bout

After waiting and waiting for a possible Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather fight on May 5, it turns out that Money May will take on Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael.

With rumors swirling that Mayweather would face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, Money May threw everyone for a loop and took up a bout with Cotto, who is fresh off his dismantling of Antonio Margarito in their rematch.

Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) will be Mayweather's toughest foe as of late, as he looked to be on top of his game in his match with Margarito. He is a great counter-puncher and has lethal punching power, which could give Mayweather problems in their fight.

Mayweather is the ultimate counter-punching defensive fighter, and although Cotto has the ability to give Money May a run for his money, we have all seen Mayweather throw fighter after fighter off their game plan en route to his 42-0 record.

Cotto will be a great opponent for Mayweather before he begins his up-to-90-day jail sentence in Las Vegas to prepare for a possible mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao sometime in November.

Mayweather and Cotto have been linked to fight as far back as 2005. Now that it is finally a done deal, the fight will be as good as it would have been six years ago.

Cotto was rumored to be Pacquiao's opponent of interest that wasn't named Mayweather, and now Canelo should be the front runner to take on PacMan.

In all, we're not getting the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega-fight we all wanted just yet, but having Mayweather pitted up against Cotto—instead of a rematch between Pacquiao and Cotto—is a win for boxing fans, as we don't need another Pacquiao rematch after the judging debacle in Pacquiao-Marquez lll.

Note: Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Raymond "Skip" Avansino said, "It is somewhat unprecedented," referencing giving a boxer a license with a pending jail sentence, and requested he "acts like a champion" and turns himself to begin his jail sentence on June 1, before granting Mayweather a one-fight license for the Cotto fight..

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