By Mark Vester

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, tells the LA Times that a deal for Oscar De La Hoya's next fight, scheduled for December 6 in Las Vegas, will be made very quickly - probably in less than ten-days. The two opponents in the running are said to be WBC lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Cotto faces Antonio Margarito on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Pacquiao is scheduled to attend the event and plans to sit down with his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, to discuss a possible De La Hoya bout. If Margarito upset Cotto, Arum told the paper that De La Hoya has refused to fight him, and he also refused a bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

"If Margarito wins, Oscar won't fight him," Arum says. "He won't fight another Mexican in his last fight. I tested him on that. I asked about Chavez Jr,, which would be his easiest test. He said no. The Mexicans would hate him."

If the fight is made with Pacquiao, the discussed catch-weight would be the welterweight limit of 147. If the opponent is Cotto, the fight would probably happen a few pounds above at 150, where De La Hoya last fought in May against Steve Forbes.

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