by Jhonny Gonzalez
Gabriel Peñagarícano, legal adviser to WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, said the strong name value of Ricardo Mayorga was the deciding factor in selecting him over unbeaten contender Vanes Martirosyan. Mayorga, Vanes and Polish boxer Pawel Wolak were the three fighters under review for Cotto's ring return on March 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Team Cotto felt Vanes would be a tougher sell on pay-per-view. Mayorga has already completed his side of the deal. Peñagaricano says negotiations have not been finalized on Cotto's end but he expects to wrap things up by the end of this week.
"Mayorga has a stronger name than the Armenian Vanes Martirosyan. He was one of the candidates and he's the strongest of them. We took a break this week for the Christmas activities, but we should be resuming the negotiations [this week]," Peñagaricano told Carlos Rosario.
Peñagaricano says Cotto will receive a substantial purse for the fight and a good percentage of the money generated from pay-per-view.
"We do not comment on the economic aspects. This is a pay-per-view event that generate income and there are safeguards," Peñagaricano said.
