Mayweather vs Pacquiao: How Cotto Fight Affects Potential Matchup

Floyd Mayweather will fight Miguel Cotto on May 5 in Las Vegas, and the result of this fight will have a major effect on Mayweather's potential bout with Manny Pacquiao.

The contentious negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao's camps have built up and broken down several times, and the much-anticipated fight will is nowhere near happening.

Pacquiao is coming off a victory by decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November of last year, and will fight Timothy Bradley on June 9.

Both fighters will need time to recover from their bouts, and Mayweather has to serve a 90-day jail sentence for domestic abuse charges before any progress can be made.

Once all that is done, the two sides can once against work towards terms that will make this fight a reality.  

The nature of any negotiation is influenced by which side has the most leverage, and Mayweather's position will be determined by his result against Cotto.

"Pretty Boy" is notorious for his gigantic ego, and this character flaw has led to demands for exorbitantly high prize-money when he fights. This negotiating tactic has influenced another one of Mayweather's nicknames—"Money."

Mayweather was guaranteed $22.5 million for his fight against Shane Mosely, and $25 million for his bout against Victor Ortiz.

As this fight will be the most hyped match-up in years, the Mayweather camp will be asking for huge money to fight Pacquaio.

However, if Cotto is able to do significant damage to Mayweather in the upcoming fight, "Money" will have to lower his asking price.

Any weaknesses exposed in the Cotto fight will lead analysts and commentators to question whether Mayweather, 35, may be past his prime.

These concerns would only be amplified while Mayweather serves his jail sentence, and once he is freed, he may not like the offers he receives.

Mayweather will be incarcerated when Pacquiao fights Bradely, and a dominating performance by the Filipino fighter could also have a negative effect of Mayweather's ability to secure a record pay-day.

This will not sit well with Mayweather's ego, and a fight may not happen on those terms.

In addition, Mayweather has openly admitted that his primary motivation to fight at this point in his career is the money. He said:

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"Well, the thing is this, like I said before, of course I want to please the fans, and I want to please everybody that's buying pay-per-view, but self-preservation is the law of the land. I come first. I must fight for Floyd Mayweather first."

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The more Mayweather's prize money decreases, the less likely fans are to see a matchup with Pacquiao. 

For a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight to happen, "Pretty Boy" needs to beat up Cotto early and often on May 5.