Mayweather takes on Cotto tonight, vows to win

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been doing this all his life, since he was a scrawny kid seeking solace in the gym. The ring is his comfort zone, and he’ll enter it tonight for the 43rd time as a pro, certain as ever that when the night is through he’ll not only be a lot richer but still unbeaten.

Miguel Cotto is certain of a few things himself. Certain that he has conquered his worst fears in boxing, certain that he can be the first one to conquer Mayweather.

“I don’t need anyone else giving me a chance,” Cotto said. “If I can trust in myself, I don’t need anyone else believing in me.”

Not many are, especially the oddsmakers who make Mayweather a 6-1 favorite. But if any fighter is a live underdog it’s Cotto, a relentless puncher who believes in himself again after finally avenging a beating he took from Antonio Margarito four years ago.

Cotto stopped Margarito in their rematch in December, and will be defending his version of the 154-pound title against a fighter who knows how to promote a big bout almost as well as he knows how to fight one.

“Nobody is invincible in life. I know that because I pass through this point in my life,” Cotto said. “I’m ready for anything Floyd brings me.”

Mayweather has answered that question every time he’s stepped in the ring as a pro, winning all 42 of his fights while becoming the biggest pay-per-view attraction in the sport. If he needs any added incentive to win this fight, it would be that it might make the nights pass easier when he goes to jail June 1 for what is expected to be a two-month sentence for domestic abuse.

There’s a decent chance Mayweather could be challenged by Cotto, who will be fighting at 154 pounds for the fourth time and appears to be comfortable at the weight — which is the class limit. Mayweather agreed to move up from 147 pounds — he weighed in at a 151 pounds, his highest ever — for a scheduled 12-round fight from the MGM Grand hotel that will be televised on pay-per-view.