Cotto open to leaving Top Rank in 2010

Source: Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times

Welterweight contender Miguel Cotto, whose only career loss came to Antonio Margarito last July, is not letting Bob Arum's intense backing of Margarito go on without speaking out vehemently:

"I'm very angry [with Top Rank]," Cotto, speaking in Spanish, told a reporter in Puerto Rico.  "In the name of boxing, Margarito and his group have to comply with the penalty. Every boxer is very aware of what is being put on them. Everyone in his group was aware."

For the most part Cotto's trying to take the high road, but his vocal displeasure with Top Rank is very real. When asked by Primera Hora if he could see himself leaving the company when his contract runs out in 2010, he quickly replied, "Yes."

Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer -- who would have to be considered the leading contender to pick Cotto up should he decide to part ways with Top Rank next year -- also weighed in on the Margarito wraps story on the LA Times blog, saying that Margarito being allowed to walk would allow other rule-bending fighters an excuse that they, too, didn't know what was on their pads.