By Mark Vester

With the recent announcement that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is injured, a potential showdown between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is the frontrunner mega-fight to take place in the fall. Mayweather injured his ribs and was forced to withdraw from his July 18 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez. The fight was scheduled to take place the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Questions are lingering over the Mayweather withdrawal.

Numerous sources within the industry have said the ticket sales for Mayweather-Marquez were not doing well. Mayweather's promotional company was the lead promoter for the event. The speculation of "event issues" grew bigger when the injury announcement was released to the media after Cotto was able to decision Joshua Clottey on Saturday night in New York's Madison Square Garden. Cotto and Mayweather were the two frontrunners to fight Pacquiao in the fall. Pacquiao sat ringside for Cotto's win over Clottey and he was expected to sit ringside for Mayweather-Marquez. Now Pacquiao's decision became a little easier to make.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, is already working on a deal to match the two fighters in November. Mayweather is expected to fight Marquez in the fall. According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, Mayweather will likely only fight once in 2009, which leaves a lot of time and a lot of roadblocks before Pacquiao and Mayweather could actually meet in the ring. He says Mayweather's injury is legit.

"It's a legitimate injury," said Schaefer to Sports Illustrated. "We have talked to a doctor. My understanding is that it is muscle related. It's a tough injury for Floyd because he was looking to fight twice this year. Now he is probably only going to get to fight once."

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