Pacquiao insists Cotto tough foe for Floyd Jr

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao said Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have made a terrible mistake by choosing Miguel Cotto as his next opponent.

“Akala niya madaling kalaban si Cotto (He thought Cotto is an easy opponent),” said Pacquiao of Mayweather who faces the wide-bodied and heavy-handed Puerto Rican on May 5 in Las Vegas.

Mayweather will challenge Cotto for the latter’s WBA light-middleweight crown. There is no catchweight for this one but the full weight of 154 pounds, and this should favor Cotto.

Pacquiao told The STAR it’s no walk in the park for Mayweather.

“Delikado si Mayweather (Mayweather is in danger),” added Pacquiao, who fought Cotto at a catchweight of 145 lb, and proved too fast in pounding out a 12th round stoppage in 2009.

Pacquiao said at 154 pounds, Cotto will be a monster, an entirely different fighter like the one that knocked out Antonio Margarito last December in New York.

After losing to Margarito and Pacquiao in a span of 16 months, Cotto sprung back to life with three consecutive victories capped by that remarkable performance against Margarito.

Following that victory, Cotto became the subject of a tug-o-war between Mayweather and Pacquiao. They both wanted the Puerto Rican as their next opponent.

But Cotto, now fighting in the light-middleweight class, said he could no longer drop down in weight just to face Pacquiao. Instead, he chose Mayweather who was willing to meet him at 154 lb.

“Malakas sumuntok si Cotto (Cotto is a hard-hitter),” said Pacquiao, who in turn opted to face undefeated Timothy Bradley on June 9 also at the MGM in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao said Mayweather has everything to lose against Cotto.

“Pag natalo si Floyd dito, ubos na ang credibilidad niya (If Floyd loses here, he loses all his credibility),”  added Pacquiao.

Mayweather is undefeated and claims to be the greatest boxer of his time. And once he loses that zero in his record, he loses his right to such claim.

Cotto has everything to gain on this fight. If he beats Mayweather in May, there’s no bigger fight to make than a rematch with Pacquiao.

But that’s if Pacquiao gets past Bradley of course.