By Pablo Fletes, notifight.com
Ricardo Mayorga (29-7, 23KOs) is training for the fight of his life. This is the first time since 2003, when he defeated Vernon Forrest for the welterweight crown, that Mayorga has held a three month training camp. He faces Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28KOs) for the WBA junior middleweight title on March 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"This is the first time since I was world champion that I trained for three months. I did it with Vernon Forrest and Eric Mitchell. With the fight against [Felix] Trinidad there was so much confusion, and the same situation with the fight against Oscar De La Hoya, where we faced problems with the money and what we were going to get paid by Don King," Mayorga said.
"But now I've taken this fight with Cotto very seriously and I'm training hard because this guy annoys me. Cotto gives the appearance of a great champion, but he's only been tested with Margarito, Pacquiao and Mosley, and two of those fights he lost. Cotto is trying to be like Tito Trinidad of Puerto Rico, but nobody wants him in the country and I'm sending him back home knocked out."
Mayorga once again says that 2011 will be his last year in boxing.
"I want to have a normal life outside the sport. I think I'm young, but for boxing I am old and by March 12 I'll be 38-years-old," Mayorga said. "I'm not 30-years-old anymore. It is time to move away and give the young boxers a chance. I don't want to be an old fool, boxing at 40 or 50-years-old like many old boxers who are out there getting beaten and looking like losers. I want this to be my final year in boxing. I feel confident that I can beat Miguel Cotto and then fight I want to fight with Manny Pacquiao. I do not want to come back to boxing after these two fights."
