By Mark Vester

WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25KOs) is not going to wait around for his WBC counterpart, Floyd Mayweather Jr (39-0, 25KOs), to make a decision as to whether or not he will fight him. Speaking with BoxingScene.com's Bill Emes, Cotto says he is tired of hearing excuses on why Mayweather won't take the fight.

"He always runs [from me], makes excuses on why he shouldn’t fight Miguel Cotto. I'm here for the big names. If he doesn't want to fight me than I can do something else. I don't know," Cotto said.

A lot of opponents have worked on the perfect strategy to beat Mayweather, but Cotto is confident he got the goods to pull of the upset.

"To beat Maywetaher, you have to put pressure on him, cut off the ring and be ready to throw a lot of punches, real punches - for all twelve rounds," Cotto said.

Cotto is slated for a return in March, possibly against Joshua Clottey (if he beats Shamone Alvarez on Dec. 20). There is also the possibility of Cotto meeting Oscar De La Hoya in May.

Hatton was the initial frontrunner to fight De La Hoya on the May date. After Hatton was knocked out by Mayweather on Dec. 8, the chance of meeting De La Hoya went from being a definite to a slight possibility. Cotto was one of the fighters De La Hoya mentioned as a possible dance partner for May (Hatton and Mayweather being the others). The pickings are getting slim for Oscar, so Cotto has a decent shot to land the fight.

After a huge 2007, winning important bouts over Zab Judah and Shane Mosley, the Puerto Rican superstar is looking to continue his streak of big fights in 2008. He's willing to fight whoever his promoters, Top Rank, put in front of him.

"I never choose opponents. I never ask Bob (Arum). They always make the correct fights for me. I'm going to leave these things in their hands," Cotto said.

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