By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was informed by promoter Lou DiBella that WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (24-0, 19KOs) is willing to step in for Antonio Margarito, and take on Miguel Cotto (32-1, 26KOs) in a unification bout on June 13. Cotto still has to deal with his upcoming fight with Michael Jennings, which takes place on February 21 for the vacant WBO title.
DiBella's comments pertain to the recent suspension of Margarito by the California State Athletic Commission. The news came down on Thursday that Margarito, and his trainer, Javier Capetillo, have had their licenses temporarily suspended while the CSAC continues to investigate the foreign substance that was found in Margarito's hand wraps about 30 minutes before last Saturday's fight with Shane Mosley. Each of Margarito's hand wraps were found to have a hard block of gauze that allegedly, from what several witnesses have said on the record, contained a plaster-like substance. The substance found on the blocks of gauze is being analyzed by the California Department of Justice. Margarito and his trainer are scheduled to appear for an initial hearing on February 10, 2009
If the allegations are found to be true, and the suspensions stick, the June 13 rematch between Margarito and Cotto is in the toilet. A few months back, DiBella and Bob Arum [Cotto's promoter] were in talks for a potential Cotto-Berto bout for 2009, but the two sides were far apart on the money. If Margarito is not there, Cotto's choices may come down to Berto or a rematch with Shane Mosley.
Arum's rational to stage a Cotto-Margarito rematch, instead of a rematch with Cotto and Mosley, is Cotto receiving a bigger piece of the money with Margarito. Using Arum's logic, Cotto would certainly receive a far bigger split of the money against Berto than he would against Mosley.
"If Margarito is unavailable for the fight, Berto would love to step in and take his place against Cotto on June 13. They could unify the titles and the winner could fight Luis Collazo," DiBella said.