Mayweather vs. Cotto: Saturday Night's Epic Bout Is a Win-Win for Money May

They don't call Floyd Mayweather Jr. "Money" for nothing. The undefeated boxing champion has agreed to "the largest contract guarantee for one fight" in the sport's history, according to ESPN.com.

Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) will rake in $32 million for his title fight with Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) on Saturday night in Las Vegas, win or lose, making the 12-round match (HBO pay-per-view, 9:00 PM ET) a win-win scenario for the 35-year-old.

Whether Mayweather heads to jail on June 1 to serve his 87-day sentence as an unbeaten boxer, he will do so as a very rich man.

With already 16 years of professional boxing under his championship belts, Pretty Boy Floyd has nothing left to prove other than how many luxury cars one man can own during his lifetime.

Mayweather's adviser Leonard Ellerbe said:

"

This is just a testament to his star power, Floyd Mayweather is a one-man walking conglomerate. Of course, this is exciting. Over the last 12 months he is the highest-paid athlete in sports.

"

Mayweather has beaten every opponent he has stood across, and done so with an unmatched ring presence that allows him to float around for 12 rounds and walk away relatively unscathed. 

The Puerto Rican Cotto will be a difficult test as he has a size and age advantage on Mayweather. Cotto is only 31 years old and outweighs the WBC welterweight champ by three pounds.

Mayweather will boast a five-inch reach advantage inside the ring, which will be tough for Cotto to overcome considering opponents rarely land their gloves on Floyd enough to do any significant damage.

But I digress.

As already mentioned, the result inside the ring on Saturday night carries little importance in terms of how Mayweather will be remembered, or the state of his bank account. If anything, it destroys the little shred of hope that remains of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao mega fight. 

Mayweather is already a winner and a rich man. Once he steps inside the ring on Saturday, he'll be $32 million richer and another fight closer to closing one of the most impressive careers in boxing history.


Follow Patrick Clarke for more on Boxing.