By Mark Vester

WBA welterweight champion Antonio Margarito would consider a year-end rematch with Miguel Cotto. Margarito stopped Cotto in eleven grueling rounds last Saturday in Las Vegas. Co-manager Sergio Diaz says that Margarito is open to a rematch, but he doesn't think that Cotto will fight again until 2009. Cotto may need to rest, he was battered by Margarito during the course of the fight. He would later head to the hospital to close up several facial cuts.

Diaz doesn't think Oscar De La Hoya will select Margarito for his next fight on December 6. De La Hoya told Margarito's promoter Bob Arum [a few days before the Cotto win] that he would not consider Margarito as the opponent because he does not want to end his career by fighting another Mexican.

"Tony's going to take a break but we'd really like a fight before the end of the year. We are open to a rematch but Cotto may not fight for a while. There could be a unification bout. We really don't think De La Hoya will fight us," Diaz told the LA Times . "We'll start to hear the excuses. He's really going to work to choose his next fight. He wants to retire, but he doesn't want to retire hurt."

Diaz is probably right since De La Hoya is trying to secure the much-smaller Manny Pacquiao, currently the WBC lightweight champion. As mentioned in a previous brief, Arum would like to match Margarito with Shane Mosley. Mosley would first have to beat Ricardo Mayorga on September 27. Diaz would like to see a unification bout with Zab Judah. For that fight to happen, Judah would have to capture the IBF welterweight title by beating Joshua Clottey this coming Saturday in Las Vegas.

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