By Mark Vester

Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is looking at the possible options for Miguel Cotto's return to the ring next February. Last we heard, Arum is looking to place Cotto (32-1, 26KOs) back in the ring on Feb. 14. He says that former welterweight champion, and fellow Puerto Rican, Kermit Cintron (29-2, 27KOs), is the one of the possible names to face Cotto. The other is contender Jesus Soto Karass (21-3, 15KOs).

Cintron is scheduled to fight former 140-pound champ Lovremore Ndou on November 15. Karass has been able to put together a string of wins which includes guys like Vince Phillips, David Estrada and Chris Smith. He's been unbeaten since 2005.

"The names that we have in mind are Kermit Cintron and Jesus Soto Karass.  One of those two could be the opponent for Miguel," said Arum to Primera Hora.

There is no lock that Cotto's return will be on HBO. Arum said the network, the date and the venue will depend on the funds being offered for the fight. He plans to meet with HBO execs when he comes to town for next weekend's Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins clash. He also plans to talk with Showtime. He would like the fight to land in Puerto Rico, but the other possible location is Atlantic City. He says that if they can't find quality opponents for Cotto and Antonio Margarito and/or the networks don't have enough in their budgets to pick up the fights, a Margarito-Cotto rematch may come sooner than later.

"First, we have to speak with HBO and find out their availability becuase of the U.S. economy," Arum said. "Both Atlantic City and Puerto Rico is being considered. Now, another possibility is that, if we fail to find quality opponents for Cotto and Antonio Margarito, they could end up fighting each other in March or April."

Arum is also trying to put together a fight between Margarito and Shane Mosley for January 2009, but that also depends on HBO and if the network has enough in the budget to pick up such a fight. Arum and Golden Boy Promotions are not confident that a Margarito-Mosley bout will pull in enough money on pay-per-view. If Cotto and Margarito win their fights, they would likely meet in a rematch on June 6.

"Now they are all running scared. We have to sse if HBO has sufficient money to do the fight between Margarito and Mosley. That we still don't know, Arum said. 

Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com