By Shaun Campbell: There is not doubt that both Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are both brilliant fighters. Pacquiao is one of the top welterweights in the world, and Cotto is now the WBA light-middleweight champion. There has been a lot of talk since their fight last year that the two will meet again at welterweight if a fight with Mayweather does not materialize for Pacquiao.

However, I am left wondering why there is a case for a rematch between the two fighters. Yes it was an entertaining fight, but Pacquiao arguably dominated the fight with the rare successful combination from Cotto landing. Manny knocked Cotto down twice before eventually stopping him in the twelfth round. It seemed the fight was entertaining due to Pacquiao’s class and talent, and Cotto’s heart and will. It was exciting to see Pacquiao land huge shots, and Cotto to come forward still and occasionally land his punches back. However, it is hard to make a case that in a rematch at welterweight (a weight Cotto struggled to make before moving up to light-middleweight), that Cotto would be successful and beat Pacquiao.

Cotto recruited hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward to help him get his career back on track after the loss to the pound for pound king at the time. Cotto’s famous left hook returned in the fight against Yuri Foreman, however, he still got hit with shots that you would hope he would have avoided. Pacquiao on the other hand is still looking strong and good at welterweight. Although in his last contest again Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao wasn’t at his best, probably because of Clottey’s tight defence.

In my mind, I can only see the same happening if there is a rematch. I don’t think Cotto would look as good back down at welterweight, and I think Pacquiao would probably stop him again. But as a boxing fan, I think any fight other than Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather would now be a disappointment. I don’t want to see Pacquiao in the ring with anyone other than Mayweather. Cotto has many great fights still out there for him, but sadly for him, I think a Pacquiao bout with only result in another loss on his record. Surely there is more of a case for Mayweather to fight Cotto if the long awaited mega fight does not happen?