By Jason Kim: Former IBF/WBA welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO’s) is in a prime position to get a shot at either WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto or possibly WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao next. Margarito’s promoter Bob Arum would like to match the 32-year-old Margarito up against either of his two biggest fighters Cotto or Pacquiao.

Margarito’s next opponent depends on whether or not Arum can successfully put together a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Arum is hoping to know by July 15th if the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout can be made.

If not, then Arum will look to substitute either Cotto or Margarito in place of Mayweather. If the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight does get made, then Margarito and Cotto will likely meet up for a rematch of their July 31st bout. In that fight, Cotto scored often and controlled most of the fight before wearing out and getting stopped in the 11th round. HBO would like to show the Margarito-Cotto rematch, because their previous fight was exciting until the very end of the bout.

However, the fight hinges on whether or not Margarito will be able to get his boxing license back in the United States. Margarito lost his boxing license earlier last year after a suspicious substance was found on his hand wraps before his fight with Shane Mosley.

Because of that incident, there are more than a few boxing fans who want to see Margarito against neither Cotto nor Pacquiao. In fact, they don’t want to see Margarito ever fight again. However, Arum is loyal to Margarito and will go ahead and pit him against Cotto or Pacquiao or possibly both at some point, just as long as Margarito can get his boxing license back in the U.S.

The chances are good that Arum will be able to get Margarito’s license back. He can pick and choose among a number of athletic commissions from different states until he finally finds one that will give him a boxing license. Ideally, it would be great if Margarito could licensed in Nevada, New York or Texas, because those are states where Arum could the biggest audiences for a bout involving Margarito.