Mayweather vs. Cotto: Your Definitive Guide to Cinco De Mayo Fight

It's time for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to get back in the ring; his opponent may not be Manny Pacquiao, but Miguel Cotto is still a world-class fighter.

The two will get it on May 5.  There are story lines and an interesting battle inside the ring that led up to this fight.  Here's my prediction.

How We Got Here

The fact that Mayweather and Pacquiao could not come to an agreement for a May 5 bout caused Floyd to look elsewhere for an opponent.

Mayweather wants a payday before he reports to jail for domestic violence against the mother of his children.

With Bob Arum controlling Pacquiao's affairs, the decision was made to rebuke Floyd's attempt to shift the pressure to Pacquiao to agree to the fight and Floyd's terms.

Arum seemed hell-bent on not allowing Mayweather to set the deadlines, thus we have no super fight.

Why Cotto? 

He's got a name, but he's safe, at least for a fighter like Mayweather. 

Cotto doesn't have the hand speed or defense to corral Mayweather, yet his reputation for exciting fights and drawing power will make them both rich men.

The fact that the fight is taking place on May 5 and is billed as a Cinco de Mayo matchup in Vegas is another added attraction. 

Cotto is Puerto Rican and has proven to be a large draw amongst Latino fight fans.

Defeating Cotto will be the high-profile win Mayweather needs to leave on the minds of fight fans while he serves his 90-day jail sentence.

For Cotto, the motivation is obvious.  Though the fight is for his championship, Mayweather is one of the true kings of the sport. 

Defeating him would be the biggest win of his or any other fighter's career.

Cotto just earned some in-ring retribution, stopping bitter rival Antonio Margarito due to a badly injured eye in their rematch. 

Fighting and defeating Mayweather would set him to try to avenge another high-profile loss on his record to Pacquiao.

In the Ring

This one should be easy for Mayweather.  Cotto has never been hard to hit, and he's rarely faced fighters who have quicker feet and hands. 

Mayweather has both of those traits of swiftness; it will be a frustrating night for Cotto.

Pacquiao had Cotto beat in those two categories.  We saw how that one ended; it was a brutal TKO at the hands of "Pac-Man."

Mayweather probably won't stop Cotto, but he will straight right lead him to death (figuratively speaking).

Cotto has never possessed the head movement or overall attention to defense required to defeat Mayweather. 

I love both fighters, and both men will take home nice paydays, but Mayweather will be victorious.

The Aftermath

"Money" will do his bid, find a way to tweet further barbs at Pac-Man, all the while hoping Pacquiao's next opponent doesn't drop him, effectively killing Mayweather's mega payday.

When he is released, if Pac-Man is still the Pac-Man he was before his last bout, then the talks will resume. 

I personally believe there a few fights that Pacquiao may have significant trouble with at this stage of his career.  One of them is the fight with Tim Bradley that seems to be next.

If Bradley beats Pacquiao, then Mayweather has lost this payday, and he must ask himself, "What's my motivation?"

That answer will likely be money, so he'll fight on, but he'll have lost the chance at a historic payday.

For Cotto, he really doesn't have much to lose.  Very few will give him a shot at beating Mayweather, and though I'd like to see him retire when he loses, he probably won't.

Cotto is a true warrior, and one of my favorite fighters of all time, but sadly, and typically, he may not know when to hang up the gloves.