By Mark Vester
During several media interviews, Oscar De La Hoya said the three-fight retirement plan for 2008 would probably end with a December showdown with WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, provided that Cotto got past Antonio Margarito on July 26. During an interview in late April, De La Hoya called Cotto one of the best fighters in the world and expressed his desire to fight him.
"If I beat Mayweather, who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, my following fight has to be with one of the best and it's no secret that Miguel Cotto is one of the best in the world," De La Hoya said. "He has a difficult fight with Antonio Margarito and although any thing can happen, we all know that Miguel Cotto is going to win.
Of course, De La Hoya would have had to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a proposed September rematch. Not anymore. Now that Mayweather has announced his unexpected retirement, there is nothing to stand in the way of De La Hoya facing the winner of Cotto-Margarito much sooner than expected.
In past interviews, Cotto has also made it known that he wants a crack at De La Hoya. Earlier this year, there were ongoing talks between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions to make a De La Hoya-Cotto bout, but the negotiations came tumbling down when De La Hoya announced that he was planning to stage a tuneup on route to a Mayweather rematch.
The list of marketable opponents for De La Hoya is now slim with Mayweather out of the sport and Ricky Hatton signing a multi-fight deal with Golden Boy. There are two options, the Cotto/Margarito winner or Winky Wright. Wright is coming off a loss to Bernard Hopkins, has been inactive for almost a year, and he's never been a big ticket-seller. Cotto-Margarito is one of the most anticipated fights of the last few years. The winner will easily become the king of the welterweight division - and the perfect gem that De La Hoya needs for one last mega pay-per-view payday.
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