Mayweather vs. Cotto: Pre-Fight News for Money and Miguel

Floyd Mayweather heads into his bout with Miguel Cotto looking to improve his career record to 43-0. He's a heavy favorite and, in typical Mayweather fashion, has shown supreme confidence in his ability to remain undefeated.

He must be careful not to overlook Cotto, however. He's won three straight fights and his only loss since 2009 came against Manny Pacquiao, so he's not a pushover by any means. If Mayweather doesn't bring his A-game, things will get interesting.

Saturday night's fight is for the WBA (Super) light middleweight championship, which has been held by Cotto since beating Yuri Foreman. It's Mayweather's second straight title fight. He defeated Victor Ortiz for the WBC welterweight belt the last time out.

Let's take a look at a couple pre-fight stories leading up to the marquee bout.

Mayweather's Chaotic Life

When he's in the ring, Mayweather always seems in control. He's rarely been challenged in his storied career and more often than not he completely dominates his opponents. Outside the ring has been a different story, though.

Ron Borges of the Boston Herald discusses all the things “Money” will be dealing with once Saturday's fight comes to an end.

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Mayweather clearly has a lot of bills, including one that not even money can pay. On June 1, he must turn himself in to the Clark County jail, where he will begin serving an 82-day sentence after pleading guilty to one count of domestic violence and no contest to two harassment charges resulting from an incident involving his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his three children.

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He's been dealing with these outside issues for a while, and he's never let it affect his performance in the ring. Don't expect that to change against Cotto. Once Mayweather hears the bell ring, he only has one focus and that's winning.

Friday's Weigh-In

The spectacle of a boxing match isn't complete without the weigh-in. For Cotto and Mayweather, that will occur today at the MGM Grand. The event is open to fans, which should only make the atmosphere even more interesting.

More importantly, Dan Rafael reports there's no catchweight like in other bouts. Mayweather is coming up to a maximum of 154 pounds to fight for the title and that's all the stipulation involved. The favorite said it was so there were no excuses when the bout ended.

There are obviously risks involved with moving up for Mayweather, but he's handled all of his division changes with relative ease over the years. It's a big story before the fight because of the unknown factor, but it will probably fade away quickly.

Cotto's Confidence

Even though Cotto isn't being given much of a chance by fans or the oddsmakers, Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reports the underdog has a quiet sense of confidence as one of his biggest bouts nears, which is important to have a chance to succeed.

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"I don't need anyone to say I have a chance," he said of those who think he's there to be a target for Mayweather's fists. "I trust myself. If I trust my work, my preparations, I don't need anyone else [to say I can win.]"

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It would be a massive upset if Cotto did manage to defeat Mayweather. Believing in himself serves as an important first step, but it's still unknown if he'll be able to survive a barrage of punches from the five-division champion.

The time for talk is almost over. After tomorrow night the results will speak for themselves, and Cotto faces an uphill battle.