By Will Cruz: I guess I could say I’m surprised, but in reality I’m not. This week’s Ring Magazine’s ridiculous pound for pound and divisional rankings were updated after the Mayweather beat down of lightweight Juan Marquez. I’m not one to pay too much attention to P4P ratings because I have always believed they are bogus.

What I have an issue with is how they rank Mayweather the number 2 welterweight ahead of Cotto, after beating Marquez in a usual snooze fest for Mayweather. If you read Doug Fischer’s response to that, this will sound very familiar as he feels the same. I will be more vocal about it.

Miguel Cotto has been in the ring with legitimate Welterweights since moving up in the weight. Not only that, he has been the victor in all but one questionable loss to Margarito. Joshua Clottey, Shane Mosley, Carlos Quintana, are all fighters Mayweather is afraid of facing in order to protect his precious undefeated record, or maybe his pretty face. I’m not one to lose sleep over why Mayweather hand picks his opponents and then somehow convinces people to drink the kool aid that he is the best. I’m not drinking it, but unfortunately the people that decide the rankings at Ring Magazine have enjoyed it thoroughly.

The more I think about this and the way the masses have been dreaming of a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight, I’m more convinced that Miguel Cotto is going to have to put a beating on Pacquiao to win the fight, but more importantly to earn his respect. How could you possible place Mayweather, or Mosley for that matter, ahead of Cotto on the Welterweight rankings? Did people forget about the Cotto win over Mosley? So Mosley beat Margarito, who was caught “rock handed” that night. He should have, and I have no doubt that if it were Cotto fighting Margarito that night, he would have too.

I can’t imagine that Cotto will not utilize all of this as motivation for his upcoming bout with Pacquiao. And if you have been paying attention, Cotto is more determined and focused for this fight more than any other in his career; and he should be. He knows what is at stake in November. It isn’t about his payday, it isn’t about fame or attention. It is about something that he has been flirting with for years now. Respect, and solidification. He knows that he must beat Pacquiao all over that ring that night and leave no doubts. And maybe he understands the game better than anyone else. Not once has he said “If I beat Pacquiao, people will say that he was too small”. He leaves that up to us who have the opinions. Ultimately, he knows it doesn’t matter. Because if he beats Pacquiao, especially if he knocks him out, he would have defeated the “#1 P4P” fighter in the world. Surely the people at Ring Magazine will rank Cotto as the new #1 P4P fighter in the world after that right? Don’t count on it.

While Cotto lacks the charisma that a Felix Trinidad had, and is not a guy that people love to hate like Mayweather, he certainly has accomplished something Mayweather hasn’t. To win my respect and the respect of many true boxing fans as well. He now has to get it from people that have been satisfied with entertainers who give us something to talk about, but certainly cannot be called great fighters. In my opinion, Mayweather didn’t prove anything last weekend except that again, he beat a guy that has been beaten before and never posed a serious challenge to him.

I’ve always tried to be as non biased as possible when it comes to my opinions on fights, especially when a Puerto Rican is fighting; a task that is hard to do when you come from the Island of Puerto Rico that has produced so many great champions. This isn’t a shot at the Pacman; I’m one to give a man his props. Ultimately, I believe guys like Cotto are the ones that prevail when they don’t receive the respect they deserve. Ranking Cotto anything less than #1 at Welterweight behind Mayweather is a slap in the face. And when Cotto gets hit, he comes back with bad intentions. Sorry Pacquiao, you’ll have to be the one to carry that burden. On November 14, Miguel Cotto will beat Manny Pacquiao and beat the respect out of those who still don’t believe. I said weeks ago that I would not pay to watch the Mayweather fight, and I was true to my word. I saved my $50 bucks, and instead took my wife out dancing. I received the update I needed from a friend; “yeah, Mayweather too fast, too big”. Then proceeded to hit the dance floor again. “Money May” wasn’t getting mine that night.

On November 14 however, I will gladly pay up. I will have my “limoncillo” in one hand, and a plate of that good Puerto Rican food in the other. Once the fight starts, I won’t even blink. We will witness a great fight, but at the end of the night we will have witnessed a man go out and forcefully get the respect he deserves. No excuses, no politics, just a warrior with tremendous heart that could care less about P4P rankings or washed up trainer’s and boxer’s opinions. Simply put, a true fighter. Isn’t that what P4P means???