By Jake Donovan

It’s only day two of the press tour for the May 5 “Ring Kings” pay-per-view event and Miguel Cotto is already bearing the look of a man stuck in the chair at the dentist’s office – even a chair as comfortable as a king’s throne, which was exactly what awaited him on stage.

“I want this day to pass quick to start training and get focused for this fight,” said Cotto (37-2, 30KO) during Tuesday’s press conference at the world famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem to hype up his spring showdown with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Puerto Rican superstar is forced to endure two more days of travel, with the final stop to come in Los Angeles on Thursday before both fighters take to the gym.

At stake in the May 5 superfight will be Cotto’s alphabet junior middleweight belt, though the trinket is just a small part of what’s at stake in what figures to be the year’s biggest scheduled event. Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26KO) and Cotto represent two of the three top box office attractions in North America, with both fighters pulling in huge numbers in their most recent fights.

The two fighters could not be more dissimilar, though possibly the greatest difference between them is their approach towards the public. Mayweather Jr. has always craved the spotlight both in and out of the ring, while Cotto took a long time to come out of his shell, far too often defaulting to the “I fight who they put in front of me” approach.

As early as 2007, he slowly became more vocal and in recent years has been outspoken to the point of trumping former longtime promoter Bob Arum if and when the situation called for it. It’s no small coincidence that his English has dramatically improved over the years, to where he’s comfortable speaking in his second language or in his native Spanish tongue.

What remains clear, however, is that he remains far more comfortable in a boxing ring than behind a podium or microphone.

“I am here to fight the biggest names in boxing,” said Cotto, who is coming off of a 10th round stoppage of Antonio Margarito last December, a fight that avenged his first career loss. “I’ve never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted to give the fans what they like – great and exciting fights.”

Part of the “accepting everything” includes the agreement to participate in random drug testing, which has become a prerequisite for any fighter wishing to face Mayweather Jr. in the ring. The testing will serve as a supplement to that already provided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Cotto had no problem agreeing to such terms as he has always prided himself on being a clean fighter. In fact, his desire to win at all costs within the rules allowed him to play the role of hero to Margarito’s villain leading up to their sold-out Madison Square Garden headliner last December.

Their first fight was retroactively marred in controversy after Margarito was caught with plaster-like substance in his hand wraps prior to his Jan. ’09 showdown with Shane Mosley, in which the Mexican was issued a savage beatdown en route to being stopped in the ninth round.

Meanwhile, Cotto overcame the July ‘08 loss Margarito as well as a 12th round stoppage at the hands of pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao 15 months later to emerge as the leading player in an attention-starved 154 lb. division. His title-winning effort over Yuri Foreman in June ’10 netted the Boricua bomber a world title in his third weight class, to go along with belts collected at 140 and 147.

He has since defended twice and is confident of making a successful third defense, even in going up against the best fighter in the world today, one on which no blueprint for defeat exists.

As far as Cotto is concerned, such an uphill battle merely comes with the job.

“That is what the sport is all about; making the fights that the fans want and deserve to see,” insists Cotto. “On May 5, stay tuned because I will convincingly beat Floyd Mayweather.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com