By Radio Rahim
According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, a potential matchup between fellow four division world champions, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez, is very difficult to make because of the financial demands by both fighters.
Each boxer is used to making a substantial sum of money for a pay-per-view fight, but the pay-per-view business has been hurting in recent years.
Marquez (56-7-1, 40KOs), who turns 43-years-old in August, has been inactive since May of 2014 when he won a twelve round decision over Mike Alvarado. Cotto (40-5, 33KOs), who turns 36 in October, was in action last November when he lost a twelve round decision to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
Both fighters have indicated their desire to face each other, but the biggest obstacle in actually getting them in the ring is the money, says Arum.
Neither fighter is willing to back down from their position of receiving a high guarantee - meaning that neither is willing to roll the dice on the actual pay-per-view figures. If the pay-per-view bombs, and there is certainly no guarantee of a high buyrate, Arum's company could lose it's shirt on the event.
"I think the real problem is with both Cotto and Marquez...yeah they would both want to fight each other... Cotto thinks that it's an easy fight. Marquez is getting a little long on the tooth, but he's a terrific fighter and he feels that he has ways to beat Cotto," Arum told BoxingScene.com.
"The real problem is, they've been spoiled - both of them - Cotto by getting all of these tremendous purses and Marquez made all of this money fighting [Manny] Pacquiao, so to get them to fight with modest guarantees against the percent is almost impossible - because they are looking at the pay-per-view business at a time when it's booming - but believe me over the last couple of years it hasn't been."