Mayweather vs Cotto: Bob Arum Says Dealing With Mayweather "A Waste of Time"

Promoter Bob Arum says that while he's not close to a final deal for a rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto on June 9, despite reports to the contrary (which Cotto has also denied), that is one of the fights he wants to discuss with Team Cotto.

What it appears right now -- if you're taking everyone at their word, and feel free, as it makes things more fun to discuss -- is that Pacquiao made his choice for a June opponent, and it is indeed Miguel Cotto, but Cotto has not been quite brought into the fold on all of this yet.

There are rumors that Cotto could be Floyd Mayweather's May 5 opponent in Las Vegas. Cotto, as we all know well by now, is a free agent with no paper ties to Top Rank. He has said he'll be loyal to Top Rank, but they're not working with a contract and Miguel Cotto wants the most money. If Mayweather offers more money, that's a legitimate fight that could very well happen.

Arum says that Cotto negotiating with Mayweather is "a waste of time," but I think he's smart enough to know that it isn't -- but it won't involve him, so maybe he'll try to get into Cotto's ear and sway him away from that. It may be a waste of time for Arum, but Cotto won't go into a Mayweather negotiation with Arum at his side.

My gut feeling is that Arum and Top Rank will go out of their way to appease Miguel Cotto in this instance. For one thing, I don't think they'd much mind putting the screws to Mayweather, who quickly needs to find an opponent for his date, and for another thing, Cotto is sort of a perfect opponent for Pacquiao in June. They've fought before, so we know for a fact Manny should be considered close enough to a sure bet that the fight won't really be perceived as dangerous, and for another thing, no matter what happens in June if they do rematch, Top Rank would surely still like to use Miguel Cotto after that fight, perhaps later in the year against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

It is kind of fun to experience someone besides Mayweather or Pacquiao having good cards when they sit down at the poker table these days, I'll say that.