The World Awaits….. Again?

ESPN.com is reporting that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya are near an agreement for a rematch of their megafight last May.  The bout is tentatively scheduled for September, and potential sites include the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

Can it be about anything but the money?  Mayweather will gain nothing but a huge paycheck when he defeats De La Hoya, hopefully in a more convincing fashion this time.  De La Hoya doesn’t even deserve to step into the ring with Mayweather when you consider that, since the Trinidad fight in 1999, his ‘marquee’ wins include Fernando Vargas, Felix Sturm, and Ricardo Mayorga.  His losses? Only Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, and Shane Mosley twice.  Clearly, De La Hoya can’t match up with elite level fighters any more, instead building a reputation against flawed fighters that allows him to make the big-money fights against the best, fights that he ultimately loses.

There’s only one fighter that Mayweather should confront: Miguel Cotto.  Unlike De La Hoya, who now only fights for the money, Cotto still has the desire and determination to be the best.  His style contrasts well against Mayweather’s, making for a much more entertaining fight.  In fact, of all the opponents out there, Cotto stands the best chance of both hurting, and potentially defeating, Mayweather.  That’s why Mayweather won’t fight Cotto.  This is not to say that Mayweather won’t dispose of Cotto as well, but with De La Hoya, Mayweather takes no risk of damage or defeat and will walk away with another enormous payday.  If boxing fans must put up with the rematch, at least they can take solace in knowing that HBO’s 24/7 will once again feature Roger Mayweather.