By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was advised by promoter Lou DiBella that a potential fight between Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto is no longer being discussed after a financial dispute with Cotto's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank. The fight was being negotiated for a pay-per-view showdown in March. Martinez would have dropped down to a catch-weight of 155-pounds and placed his WBC middleweight title on the line. Cotto is the WBA's champion at 154-pounds.
DiBella was unhappy with Arum's position of refusing to do a co-promotion. Arum wanted to buy DiBella out, and offered $2.5 million against the upside of the pay-per-view revenue. DiBella countered with his own buyout number, but Arum was not interested.
"He wanted a buyout. He offered $2.5 million against the upside [of the pay-per-view]. I told him that 'I'm not a booking agent, I'm a promoter,' and I told him 'my fighter is not an opponent.' I offered him $5 million to buy him out and he said he wasn't interested. We weren't mad at each other. He doesn't want to do a co-promotion. He only wants to do a buyout and my fighter is not an opponent and I'm not a booking agent," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.
Arum is moving forward with his plan to stage a rematch between Cotto and Antonio Margarito for May or June. Arum told BoxingScene.com's Lem Satterfield that he offered Cotto a scenario involving a Margarito rematch, and a potential September showdown with Manny Pacquiao for the winner.
"How does Antonio Margarito, who got destroyed in two of his last three fights, and looked like sh*t in the other fight against a total bum...how is he more viable in a rematch with Cotto, than Cotto against Martinez? And the winner fighting Pacquiao? Why would anyone buy either of those rematches? Against either guy it's a rematch of a mismatch. Neither fight was great and Pacquiao beat the sh*t out of both of them," DiBella said.