By Bill Emes
WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26KOs) considers his May 5th opponent, WBA 154-pound champion Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30KOs), as being undefeated. Mayweather doesn't count Cotto's two career defeats, a TKO in eleven to Antonio Margarito in 2008 and a TKO in twelve to Manny Pacquiao in 2009.
According to Mayweather, Margarito was "a cheater" - a direct reference to the Mexican boxer being caught with loaded handwraps prior to his fight with Shane Mosley in January 2009. Mayweather also disregards the Pacquiao defeat, because the Filipinbo boxer made Cotto take the fight at a catch-weight of 145-pounds.
Mayweather, the WBC's champion at 147, wanted the fight at Cotto's weight, 154, to avoid any post-fight excuses. The fight takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"You have a guy Miguel Cotto. He has two losses, but one of his losses is to a guy at a catch-weight, where he wasn't 100%. And you have another loss to a guy who was caught cheating in the sport. I'm looking ahead that I'm facing a guy who's undefeated," Mayweather said.
"He faced Antonio Margarito, a guy who everybody said I was scared of, and he got caught cheating. Now you got Manny Pacquiao, a guy who fought Miguel Cotto at a catch-weight. So you have one guy who cheating and one guy who fought at a catch-weight. I wanted to fight Miguel Cotto at 154 because I wanted to fight the best Miguel Cotto."