By Tom Donelson 

The opponents that a fighter beats in the ring, often judge his greatness  It is not enough to be undefeated in the boxing world; a great fighter must beat other great fighters. Floyd Mayweather has the opportunity to secure his own greatness with two classic opponents sitting in wait for him. Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, both undefeated champions, are the two perfect foils for Mayweather. The youth of the three fighters is what allows for a natural rivalry to develop between all of them.  Ricky Hatton is a rough and tough slugger who only knows how to go in one direction. Cotto has good boxing skills, he can move but his strength is his power in both hands. Cotto has more mobility than Hatton, but he will never be able to outbox Mayweather on his worst night.

Both of these men present a serious threat to Floyd Mayweather and fights with both of them will test Mayweather's proclamation of greatness. Consider Mayweather's career at this point.  When Mayweather fought his two fights against Jose Luis Castillo, who would of guessed that Castillo would prove to be one of the best lightweights over the past few years? And Mayweather’s victory over Corrales is proving to be more impressive as the career of Corrales continues. When Larry Holmes fought Gerry Cooney, this was the biggest test in the career of Holmes. The only down factor about the win is that Cooney’s career never blossomed after the fight. The misfortune of Cooney took some of the gloss off what should have been Holmes' crowning moment. Many boxing historians and pundits have labeled this fight as just another Holmes victory as opposed to the accomplishment it was at the time. 

It is the old boxing adage, styles makes fights and both Hatton and Cotto present the right counter to the stylistic Mayweather.  Hatton's swarming style and Cotto’s strength, presents unique challenges to Mayweather. As impressive as Mayweather was on Saturday night against Gatti, one fight does not make a career. Hatton has shown to be one of the junior welterweight elites and Cotto is certainly close to reaching the same pinnacle. These two men are presently the top challengers to Mayweather and we cannot assume that Mayweather would walk through either of these fighters.  

Mayweather nearly lost his first fight to Castillo and while he did win the second fight, he was forced to go the distance. Hatton’s style is similar to Castillo and Hattos is probably a much stronger fighter as well. As for Cotto, the Puerto Rican champion is a strong fighter who can hurt Mayweather if he is able to connect with a flush shot.  

There are big challenges to put these particular matches together. Hatton wants to fight Mayweather in England and Mayweather wants Hatton in America.  Hatton is the recognized champion due to his victory over Kostya Tszyu and he can easily fill out a major arena in his home country.  The pay-per-view numbers for this fight would be huge.  This is the most logical fight, but it is also the hardest to make because of the network contracts and Hatton’s popularity in England. Cotto is the more logical opponent for Mayweather since a New York fight could easily be arranged. The city of New York is one of the few places in the world that a popular Puerto Rican fighter could claim home field advantage. While this fight would not garner the same live gate as a potential clash with Hatton, it would compete with a Hatton clash from a pay-per-view buyrate perspective. A pay-per-view bout with Cotto would raise the interests of many Hispanic boxing fans. 

Over the past few months, the junior welterweights have weeded the top contenders down to three. Koysta Tszyu eliminated Sharmba Mitchell and in turn, was eliminated by Ricky Hatton.  Carlos Maussa purged Vivian Harris from the mix with his seventh round KO this past weekend and least we forget; Maussa had already been stopped by Cotto. 

Six months ago, Gatti, Mayweather, Harris, Tszyu, Mitchell, Hatton and Cotto, all made their claims for the top tier position in the junior welterweight division. Now there are only three fighters who can claim the top spot, Hatton, Cotto and Mayweather. Logic dictates that that these fighters will finish what has been an elimination tournament to determine the best junior welterweight in the world. But then, boxing often defies logic.

Mayweather has an opportunity to put his mark on boxing history, but in order to do so, he must face Hatton and Cotto. If Mayweather beats both Hatton and Cotto, the victories will go a long way in securing a lasting legacy that has already seen impressive work.  History will be final judge on Mayweather’s career but for now, the jury is still out.