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I no longer consider myself part of the Floyd fan club, but I am still convinced that whatever he is doing that is keeping him from fighting Cotto is not considered ducking, at least at this point of time.
Ever since Floyd moved up from 130 to 135, he has stopped fighting for legacy and started fighting for money. One could say that he priced himself out of fights with Lazcano, Freitas, Casamayor, etc. at 135, but I don't think it was out of fear. Rather, I think he overestimated his own self-worth and wanted too big of a percentage of the pot.
Either way, after he left 135 to fight at 140, he wanted to fight Arturo Gatti before he fought Kostya Tszyu, as a way to establish himself as a PPV fighter, which would help him cash in on other big fights in the future, such as a clash with Kostya Tszyu.
Ever since then, it seems like he has been fighting whatever fighter would give him the combination of the easiest fight for the most money. While he hasn't publically expressed that he wanted the easiest fight for the most money, he has stated that he wants to fight for the most money... Floyd fighting Baldomir instead of Margarito shows that he wants the easier fight if the money is the same though. Make all the arguments you want about Baldomir being the undisputed lineal champion, but it is pretty universally recognized that Baldomir beating Judah was an absolute fluke. I remember reading something Asian Sensation wrote talking about Baldomir being the true champion of the welterweight division, no matter how limited he may be.
And so since he established a few years ago that his primary goal is money, and legacy is secondary, it is absolutely consistent with the rest of his career that he is picking the De La Hoya rematch instead of a Cotto fight, because:
1. De La Hoya clearly is going to make Floyd more money than Miguel Cotto will.
2. Oscar De La Hoya at his age right now is obviously going to be an easier fight than Miguel Cotto will be right now when Cotto is in his prime.
All of this is reliant on the current situation though... it could be that Floyd beats Oscar and then ****s around with something else instead of fighting Cotto... in that case, I would almost certainly jump ship to the camp that insists that Floyd is ducking Cotto. But for now, I don't think what Floyd is doing is ducking or fear-induced.
And do you know what? It doesn't matter a ****ing bit, because if Floyd gets out of the sport without fighting Miguel Cotto, his legacy is going to be ****ed, no matter what the reason for Floyd not fighting him was/is.
Ever since Floyd moved up from 130 to 135, he has stopped fighting for legacy and started fighting for money. One could say that he priced himself out of fights with Lazcano, Freitas, Casamayor, etc. at 135, but I don't think it was out of fear. Rather, I think he overestimated his own self-worth and wanted too big of a percentage of the pot.
Either way, after he left 135 to fight at 140, he wanted to fight Arturo Gatti before he fought Kostya Tszyu, as a way to establish himself as a PPV fighter, which would help him cash in on other big fights in the future, such as a clash with Kostya Tszyu.
Ever since then, it seems like he has been fighting whatever fighter would give him the combination of the easiest fight for the most money. While he hasn't publically expressed that he wanted the easiest fight for the most money, he has stated that he wants to fight for the most money... Floyd fighting Baldomir instead of Margarito shows that he wants the easier fight if the money is the same though. Make all the arguments you want about Baldomir being the undisputed lineal champion, but it is pretty universally recognized that Baldomir beating Judah was an absolute fluke. I remember reading something Asian Sensation wrote talking about Baldomir being the true champion of the welterweight division, no matter how limited he may be.
And so since he established a few years ago that his primary goal is money, and legacy is secondary, it is absolutely consistent with the rest of his career that he is picking the De La Hoya rematch instead of a Cotto fight, because:
1. De La Hoya clearly is going to make Floyd more money than Miguel Cotto will.
2. Oscar De La Hoya at his age right now is obviously going to be an easier fight than Miguel Cotto will be right now when Cotto is in his prime.
All of this is reliant on the current situation though... it could be that Floyd beats Oscar and then ****s around with something else instead of fighting Cotto... in that case, I would almost certainly jump ship to the camp that insists that Floyd is ducking Cotto. But for now, I don't think what Floyd is doing is ducking or fear-induced.
And do you know what? It doesn't matter a ****ing bit, because if Floyd gets out of the sport without fighting Miguel Cotto, his legacy is going to be ****ed, no matter what the reason for Floyd not fighting him was/is.
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