by David P. Greisman

A rumor being whispered Saturday at Madison Square Garden before Miguel Cotto even stepped into the ring with Antonio Margarito was that Cotto, following this fight, would depart from Top Rank and possibly seek a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

At the post-fight press conference, Top Rank’s Bob Arum said he felt assured that Cotto would not be leaving the promoter that he’d been with for the duration of his pro career.

Said Arum: “Miguel said on the international telecast what he’s said to us continuously. When they asked him what his future promotional plans were, he pointed to me and said ‘That man is my promoter and he will always be my promoter.’

“That’s good enough for me,” Arum said. “I never had a contract with Marvin Hagler. … Miguel reminds me of Marvin Hagler — the same type of loyalty.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com