Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto: The Shakedown from the Blockbuster Deal

Now that we know Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be fighting Miguel Cotto on May 5, we know some other important things about how the first half of the boxing year is going to look.

Cotto was one of Arum's so-called "chosen four," one of the possible opponents (along with Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson) he announced he would be offering to Manny Pacquiao when he traveled to the Philippines to negotiate with him during the first week of 2012.

In my opinion, this is the fight that Arum would have preferred for Pacquiao: a big name, easy-to-promote fighter with a dedicated fanbase and a demonstrated inability to handle Pacquiao's speed and explosive multi-angled attack.

I am frankly amazed that the Pacquiao-Cotto fight may have gotten caught up on the Pacquiao camp's insistence that the fight take place south of 150 pounds. I have always steadfastly maintained that Pacman wins this fight even at 154, so if it turns out Roach and Arum disagree with me, it makes me re-think Pacquiao a little bit. 

With Cotto now committed to Mayweather, it appears that Pacquiao will take on the previously unbeaten "Desert Storm" Timothy Bradley. I am a Bradley fan. The guy is extremely tough, has tons of skill and has the same nickname as the war I fought in.

If Pacquiao is not going to rematch Marquez, like I want him to, and if he's not going to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., like everybody else wants him to, or fight Miguel Cotto, like I am pretty sure Bob Arum wants him to, than he might as well fight Timothy Bradley.

You can definitely argue that Bradley is the best of what's left, a pound-for-pound top ten claimant who The Ring quite accurately summed up as a "hard little man." 

That leaves the other two names on the "Fab Four" list, Lamont Peterson and Juan Manuel Marquez. Peterson is a dogged and popular Washington D.C.-based fighter who rocketed to relevance at the end of 2011 when he became the jr, welterweight world champion by upsetting Amir Khan with a relentless body attack and some help from a slightly unusual refereeing job.

If Marquez can't get that fourth fight with his rival Pacman, he has indicated a desire to take on Peterson and become a four-division world champion. 

This would make make him only the second Mexican four-division world champion, and set up a potential clash with fellow legend Erik Morales, who became the first four division world champ from Mexico when he picked up the WBC trinket from the hopelessly overmatched Pablo Cesar Cano on the Mayweather-Ortiz undercard. 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto: A Good Fight for Both Men

Mayweather's haters and cynics in general will deride this fight simply for not being Mayweather-Pacquiao, and it is a fair enough point.

But I chronicled the ridiculous soap opera of negotiations that went on during the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 as closely as I could as a Keyboard Palooka with a day job, and while Mayweather certain deserves his share of the blame for the "dream fight" not materializing, the other side does, too.

The bottom line is that the fight didn't happen and Mayweather made one of the best alternative choices instead. Cotto is a skilled, larger opponent who will be able to push Mayweather and force him to put on a strong performance.

There is some degree of history here, too. Back when Cotto was an undefeated champion, he was mentioned often as a possible opponent for Mayweather and to this day you will see Mayweather detractors on message boards accusing Mayweather of ducking Cotto. 

Cotto has taken a fight he probably can't win, but he will not approach it that way, and it would hardly be the biggest upset in boxing history. Mayweather showed great defensive acumen against Victor Ortiz, but he did get trapped on the ropes by the younger fighter.

Cotto, who is a more accurate and disciplined puncher than Ortiz, will give himself a chance if he can get Mayweather to the same place.

Probably most important to Cotto, a pragmatic and devoted family man, is that he will earn a payday that should set up his family for at least the next few generations.

Cotto has his own promotional company and showed a willingness to stand firm and defy Bob Arum when a possible venue change looked likely last December. In his own way, he shares Mayweather's "take care of your own business" approach. 

After Pacquiao and Mayweather, Cotto is the biggest draw in boxing, at least in the United States. This fight should be reasonably competitive and exciting, and I expect a loaded undercard to support it. 

Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley

Personally, I'll be quite interested to see this fight, which now appears set for June 9. It's going to be The Ring No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound guy against The Ring No. 9 guy. I might not be in full agreement with the ordering of their list, but clearly both fighters are in the conversation. 

I'll buy it, but I don't know if this is the PPV where I invite over some buddies who are casual fans. The Cotto-Mayweather fight probably is.

I've already told my wife she can have a Cinco de Mayo party and have over some of her pretty friends, so long as they stay out of my television cave while the fight is on, unless they can wait quietly during the rounds for my friend Adam to explain what is happening during the minute break.

I just feel like Pacquiao actually matches up better style wise with bigger guys, like De La Hoya or Margarito, where he can zip up and in from dizzying angles. Bradley is rugged and stocky and I can imagine him giving Pacquiao problems by tying him up like an octopus. 

If he can execute that sort of game plan in June, as a boxing writer, I'll find that pretty interesting to watch. But it might not be super exciting to the casual fan.   

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Lamont Peterson

I love this fight. Marquez is one of my favorite active fighters and I would love to write a story about him knocking off another young lion to claim the world title in a fourth division. On the other hand, Peterson knocking off a legend would make for some fun copy, too.

I feel like this one might end up having some similarities with Marquez's ninth-round stoppage of Juan Diaz in 2009, when he won the world lightweight crown. Max Kellerman described that fight perfectly during the broadcast, as a case of a "very good younger fighter losing to a great older fighter."

Peterson's championship upset of Amir Khan last year was gritty and inspired, but it didn't convince me he is a great in the same way Marquez is. It showed me he is perhaps a little bit better than Marcos Maidana, another fighter I believe Marquez will dispatch if he campaigns against him now that he's moved up to 140 pounds. 

But this will be an action-packed fight. And if this were to end up being the night Lamont Peterson stepped up his game another notch, that's going to be the sort of event a true boxing fan wouldn't want to miss.