Mayorga, Cotto go for 154-pound title tonight

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Miguel Cotto is the featured attraction, and Ricardo Mayorga will play his usual role as the foil.

The real stars of tonight’s boxing card on the glittering Las Vegas Strip, though, might be two guys watching from ringside.

Don King and Bob Arum, together again in search of a few more bucks.

“It’s a return to glory,” King said. “We are back into the forefront of boxing, the sweet science. We are just renewing old acquaintances.”

There was once a day when a fight between the two promoters would be as anticipated as some of the fights they put on. For years they were bitter enemies, not giving each other any due and sabotaging a rival show whenever given the chance.

But they’ve mellowed over the years and are working together. Arum has Cotto, King has Mayorga, and the MGM Grand hotel has a fight.

“There’s never been a better salesman in boxing than Don King,” Arum said. “I think Don made me a lot better promoter than I would have been and I think I made Don a better promoter than he would have been.”

Cotto against Mayorga is a fight that needs the best promoters, especially when King and Arum are trying to sell them on pay-per-view for a suggested price of $49.95. That’s the going rate for bigger fights, but the matchup for a piece of the 154-pound title features two fighters who have question.

Mayorga is flamboyant and talks as good of a fight as anyone. But the former welterweight and light middleweight champion is 37 and has fought only eight times in the last eight years.

Cotto was once a fast-rising star but he, too, has slowed down. He took a beating against Antonio Margarito and an even worse one from Manny Pacquiao before rebounding last year at Yankee Stadium with a win over Yuri Foreman for his 154-pound title.

Still, he’s a 11-1 favorite to win the scheduled 12-round bout.

“I feel like I’ve had a great career,” Cotto said. “I know it’s near the end of it, but I feel like it’s the beginning. I feel great and I feel like I have a lot left in me before I go.”

Another loss by Cotto (35-2, 28 knockouts) against the wild-swinging but powerful Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KOs) would seriously damage his marketability.