Manny Pacquiao’s next fight reportedly will be a rematch against Miguel Cotto on June 9th in Las Vegas, according to Lem Satterfield of The Ring. Satterfield says the fight will likely take place at either the Thomas & Mack Center or the MGM Grand.
Pacquiao beat Cotto in November, 2009 by 12th round TKO, but that fight took place at a 145-pound catch weight, two pounds below the welterweight maximum. Cotto has won three fights since then, all at 154 pounds. Pac Man has remained at the welterweight level and the fight may require Cotto to come back down to 147.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum was said to be choosing from Cotto, Lamont Peterson, Timothy Bradley, and Juan Manuel Marquez for Manny’s next fight. Marquez, who lost to Pacquiao in November, is likely to face Peterson, who is coming off a controversial win over Amir Khan. The winner of that fight could face Manny next.
If you’re wondering how this all fits into the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather Jr. context, get ready to get upset. Bob Arum said Manny wouldn’t be ready to for a May 5th fight because he wasn’t allowed to begin sparring until April because of a wound that needs to heal. Yet somehow he’ll be ready to fight five weeks later. Right, that really makes a lot of sense.
UPDATE: Miguel Cotto has denied the report, saying “Do not pay attention to rumors. I have not made any decision yet nor reached any deal regarding my next fight. At the appropriate time, I will directly be announcing my next fight. I am discussing and analyzing options with my team.”
Even if Cotto denies the report, Satterfield has proven to be a trusted reporter when it comes to Bob Arum fighters. We take the report to indicate that this is who Top Rank wants Manny to face.
