Boricua three divisional world champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28KOs) of Caguas, PR, 
jumped back into the win column after his
some what bizarre TKO over previously undefeated Yuri Foreman (28-1, 8KOs) last Saturday night from Yankee Stadium in New York City. The historic bout was for Foreman’s WBA jr. middleweight which now Cotto has added to his collection of titles. Under the tutelage of his new trainer Emmanuel Stewart, some believe that Cotto looked sharper and more like the Cotto of the jr. welterweight division while others have stated that he was hit too often by the rabbi in practice Foreman and because of that, there might not be much left in the twenty nine year old Cotto tank.
Regardless, here is my list in order of who I believe Cotto should face next. Cotto is not favored to win all these potential match ups but in my opinion these would be his opportunity to earn the biggest paydays in what seems to be the twilight of his career.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25KOs) Yes, I know that we are all hoping that a Mayweather-Pacquiao mega fight happens in the fall but with “Money” threatening to take a couple of years off (in my opinion, his latest ploy to avoid a bout versus the Filipino sensation), Mayweather is running out of credible opponents he can charge PPV money to face off with. Although I believe that Mayweather would be too much for the Puerto Rican in either 147 lbs. or at 154 lbs., Cotto can still be a fighter that the boxing public can relunctlanty stand behind as a Mayweather opponent in case the contest against Pacuqiao does not materialize. With the rumours that Mayweather is considering another break from boxing, that might very well be the case. All in all, if this fight would to come to fruition and with Cotto undoubtely losing, the Boricua could ride into the sunset with the biggest payday of his career.
2. Andre Berto (26-0, 20KOs) There is whisperings that offering is being considered in the halls of HBO with the current WBC welterweight champion Berto moving up to jr. middleweight to challenge for the WBA belt. With Berto facing up to this point mostly B level opposition, having a Miguel Cotto among his victims would not only give a boost to the young man’s confidence but also to his credibility as a champion. With Cotto’s skills visibly diminishing to an extent after his two wars with Margarito and Pacquiao, Berto should have more than a betting chance to defeat Cotto but you can never underestimate wizened veteran.
3. Kermit Cintron (32-3-1, 28KOs) This is a bout I would like to see for the simple reason of Cotto winning the bout in a very convincing way. Despite the fact that Cintron can not be counted out, the former IBF welterweight champion is not at the level of Cotto. With some of Cintron’s more recent fights ending in controversy (Martinez, Paul Williams), a bout against Cotto will give Cintron the opportunity to redeem himself and also raise his profile to his Puerto Rican people by going against the heir apparent of Tito Trinidad. Despite the fact Cintron is a hard hitting athletic fighter, his heart, a commodity that Cotto has an abundance of which he proved in his bouts versus Margarito and Pacquiao, will come into question once again when Cotto starts pressuring him and attacks his body.
4. Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24KOs) In what would be an entertaining 154 lbs. title unifying bout, Cotto would come up short against the two belt holding “Maravilla” but it would still be an entertaining bout in which both fighters can showcase their skills with Cotto being the aggressor while Martinez the boxer. Even though Martinez is the older of the two, he would look the fresher and his high output and quick mobility style will be to much for Cotto to decipher to walk away with the victory.
5. Alfredo Angulo (18-1, 15KOs) This fight might be to quick in Angulo’s career to materialize but at this point I believe it is a toss up. Angulo, whose style is considered a lighter version of Margarito’s, has trouble with mobile fighters who know how to box as seen in his fight against Cintron and the first half versus Joel Julio. In Cotto he will face off against a fairly hard hitting accurate puncher who will not be afraid to mix it up. With Angulo having half of the fights despite being only two years younger than Cotto, he comes off as the fresher of the two which might make a difference in the latter half of the fight.
yes I would have to say those are five smart fights that make sense for Cotto. I do not believe he should fight Manny again, or Margarito at this particular point in time. I believe cotto could win 2 of the 5, El Perro and Kermit. I would like to see him fight Martinez next.