By Mark Vester

In a follow-up to my report from yesterday afternoon, it appears there is a lot of truth in the boxing industry rumors I touched on. Oscar De La Hoya is currently in serious talks to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a rematch of their May 07 bout that shattered revenue records with a buyrate of 2.4 million.

Bob Arum of Top Rank told boxing scribe Robert Morales that he was initially holding off on setting Miguel Cotto's next fight, but De La Hoya fighting Mayweather is now a done deal and Cotto will move forward with another fight.

Arum feels there was never a real chance of De La Hoya fighting a guy like Cotto at this late stage of the game, and negotiations never took place for the fight with Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. He says that De La Hoya used a possible fight with Cotto as leverage in his negotiations with Mayweather.

"That fight is a done deal. I don't think Oscar really wanted to fight Cotto," Arum said. "I think he used a possible fight with Cotto to put leverage on Mayweather in their negotiations. I knew it wasn't going to happen because the truth is, if Oscar fought Cotto, he'd be in for a serious beating. And with Mayweather, he just plays around. It's not a real ... nobody gets hurt."

Arum does not blame De La Hoya for avoiding a fight with Cotto because his fighter would have given De La Hoya a much tougher fight and he says it's not like De La Hoya is steering his career like an actual contender.

"I didn't mean to sound critical of Oscar because I really don't blame him," said Arum, De La Hoya's former promoter. After what he's done in his long career, why fight a beast like Cotto? I mean, it's silly. It's not like a guy that is campaigning like a real fighter. Oscar takes a fight here, a fight there. And it's clear that a Mayweather fight is a much easier fight."

Morales also spoke with Schaefer, who denied the rematch was a done deal, but didn't deny the fight was currently being negotiated for De La Hoya's return. Schaefer said if the Mayweather rematch falls apart, they will look for a Cotto showdown.

"Nothing is done," Schaefer said. "I don't know why Bob would say that, he's not even involved in the negotiations. The fact is, there are very many elements that still have to be worked on. I am not going to say the fight is done until it is signed. If for some reason the Mayweather fight doesn't work out, then it's going to be Cotto. If Cotto is already fighting somebody else, then it will be somebody else."

Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com