By Jake Donovan (photo by Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages)

If there’s a fight within whiffing distance of the welterweight division, chances are that the winner will call out either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. You can’t blame fighters for doing so; there’s a certain glory that comes with winning fights, but getting paid is the bottom line, and no assignment pays better than a date with either of the sport’s current pound-for-pound kings.

 

So it hardly came as a surprise when, moments after stopping Yuri Foreman in nine rounds at Yankee Stadium last weekend, Miguel Cotto’s name was immediately aligned with a possible (or at least suggested) rematch with Pacquiao.

 

The same type of chatter followed Antonio Margarito’s return to the ring a month ago, in his first fight in more than a year. Margarito has yet to be re-licensed anywhere in the United States, yet there his name was, aligned with Pacquiao as a possible “Plan B,” in case the super fight everyone desires – yet those involved are no longer permitted to discuss – once again fails to materialize.

 

With any negotiations, you always need something to fall back on, for the sake of creating leverage. That Cotto and Margarito remain at Bob Arum’s services gives Pacquiao instant options and the ability to not have to concede to every demand made by Mayweather – or anyone else at the negotiating table – if it ever came to that.

Should a Plan B come about, it will be great for either Cotto or Margarito, while not so much for the other guy.

But why not make it great for both guys and just come up with a new Plan A – a rematch between Cotto and Margarito?

There’s no time like the present, and there isn’t very much of that or a future left for either fighter, who aren’t quite faded but have also crept towards the wrong side of their respective primes.

With both fighters posting wins less than a month apart, the foundation has already been laid for an opportunity to once again fact each other. As if any further motivation is required than clearing the air, the fact that Cotto picked up an alphabet trinket in a new weight class puts even more at stake for their growing rivalry.

HBO color commentator Max Kellerman referred to Cotto during Saturday’s broadcast as a fighter at the point in his career where he can live off of his name. But if such a statement holds true for anyone, it would certainly be Pacquiao, who has proven in recent years to be a huge draw no matter who is standing in the other corner.

Cotto can still bring ‘em to the arena – more than 20,000 at Yankee Stadium this weekend added to his running total of having sold more tickets in New York than any other fighter in the 21st Century.

But the difference between the Puerto Rican superstar fighting on premium cable and headlining a lucrative pay-per-view telecast will always depend on the fighter standing in the other corner. The same goes for Margarito, though to a much smaller degree.

On the other hand, Pacquiao sold 700,000 units for a welterweight fight earlier this year against Joshua Clottey, not exactly a household name. Knowing his handlers, they will find a way to make an event out of Pacquiao’s next fight, no matter whom against.

For Pacquiao, a rematch with Cotto would only extend his own historical achievements in the sport. He’s already the only man in boxing history to win lineal and/or major alphabet titles in seven weight classes. A return go with Cotto would give him a crack at extending to eight, as a super welterweight belt would be at stake.

But would it really mean any more than his welterweight title win over Cotto last year? As it stands, plenty have already accused him of cheating history by demanding that a welterweight title fight take place below the welterweight limit.

Even if you don’t buy into that theory or don’t view his name with an asterisk next to it, there comes the question of what exactly will be accomplished by winning another belt from a man you’ve already pummeled just a year ago.

At no point in last November’s fight with Cotto was anyone thinking, “Man, Pac really needs to face this cat again. It could be a different story the second time around.”

The fight was competitive for about four or so rounds, but once Pacquiao took over, Cotto was barely able to put up a fight. He stood tall, and took a beating for more than 11 rounds before being forced to concede late in the 12th and final round. But the fight was conclusive enough to where, no matter what’s at stake in a sequel.

It’s also not abundantly clear that the boxing world is ready to embrace the idea of Margarito receiving a career-best payday against the likes of Pacquiao after only being one fight removed from his hand wrap scandal-ridden fight with Shane Mosley more than a year ago.

Margarito’s return to the ring last month was hardly met with overwhelming fanfare. The comeback tour was limited to an independent pay-per-view telecast from Mexico, since none of the networks were interested nor were any of the stateside commissions jumping at the chance to relicense the former welterweight champion.

For what it’s worth, Margarito looked decent for his first fight in more than 15 months, albeit against modest competition.

Cotto also looked strong in his return, fighting for the first time since the Pacquiao beatdown seven months prior and also at the super welterweight limit for the first time in his career.

But did either fighter look strong enough to where you say, “Hey they can run through anyone before facing each other once again?” Not quite.

The same thing happened to Cotto a year ago – looked fantastic against made-to-order Michael Jennings, but then barely escaped his own adopted backyard with a hard-fought split decision and multiple facial injuries against Joshua Clotttey, well before running into the Filipino buzzsaw in rounding out his 2009 campaign. 

The moral? Cotto still beats most of the best of the rest, but is more vulnerable now than at any other point in his career.

Most of the same can be argued on behalf of Margarito, whom already had several losses on his resume before finally having the chance to dance with the sport’s very best.

With Cotto and Margarito in separate performances against Pacquiao, there wouldn’t be very much for Top Rank to sell that you couldn’t already do against any given opponent. A title in an eighth weight class would be a tough sell in an era of multiple champions per weight class, even tougher against a man on whom you’ve already beaten badly.

Even tougher would be the notion that the guy who is coming off of suspension and has no substantive wins in over two years deserves the payday against our sport’s cash cow.

With Cotto-Margarito II, the angles are endless.

Margarito could prove once and for all that his fights prior to the Mosley disaster were on the up and up, as opposed to the retroactive accusation that the Mosley fight was just the first time he was caught, not the first time he attempted it.

Cotto gets the chance to prove that he has plenty more left in the tank than is given credit for by most, who believe that beatings against Pacquiao and Margarito have him a lot older physically than his 29 years of age suggests.

The winner walks around with alphabet hardware in tow and easily the most recognizable (read: bankable) name in the super welterweight division.

He also makes himself that much more endearing to Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, which is also the more reason why these multiple Plan B options should be consolidated into one satisfying –and lucrative – Plan A, while the other aforementioned superstars figure out their own plans.