By Jason Kim: A fight between Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 Ko’s) is being kicked around for early 2011, according to boxing news from Dan Rafael of ESPN. Martinez’s promoter Lou Dibella is in conversations with Cotto’s promoter Bob Arum for a bout that would take place at a 155 pound catch weight for Martinez’s World Boxing Council middleweight title in possibly April.

However, Arum prefers that Cotto fight a rematch with his Top Rank stable fighter Antonio Margarito, but that fight won’t likely be able to happen until at least June, if at all, because Margarito is still recovering from the severe beat down he received in the loss to Manny Pacquiao last month. Cotto isn’t thrilled at facing Margarito again, so even if Margarito is healed by April, which is when Cotto wants to fight again, he still might not get the fight with him. Margarito gave Cotto a severe beating in a 11th round TKO win in July 2008. Cotto hasn’t been the same fighter since that fight.

Besides Margarito, Cotto was supposed to be facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in April next year, but with Chavez Jr. pulling out of Saturday’s fight with Pawel Wolak, that pretty much wipes out any chance that Chavez has of facing Cotto early next year. Chavez Jr. needs to fight another 1st tier opponent before fighting Cotto, because up to now, Chavez has fought only one fringe A level fighter during his career with his win over fellow Top Rank fighter John Duddy last June. Few boxing fans see Duddy as a top tier heavyweight, and it would be good for Chavez to be in a lot tougher than Duddy before taking on the likes of Cotto next year.

Dibella said “Cotto wouldn’t be risking his 154 pound belt and would be getting a shot at the middleweight title. If Cotto loses, he goes back and defends his title in other big fights, like against Antonio Margarito or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. If Cotto beats Martinez, it’s a huge accomplishment. If he didn’t win, he’s still 154 champion and Chavez and Margarito bouts are still there for him. It’s like the Martinez fight is a free pass. Like he gets two bites at the same apple.”

Dibella is right. Cotto won’t take heat for losing to a fighter as good as Martinez, and will still be able to move on and take his big money fights against Margarito and Chavez Jr. afterwards if things don’t work out for him in the Martinez fight. It’s a win-win situation for Cotto, because it gives him another big named opponent to fight among his two other options. It’s unknown whether Cotto will get a second chance at a fight with Manny Pacquiao, and if not, he could face limited options for big named opponents in the future. The Martinez fight may be his best bet if he wants to add to the short list of names that he can fight for good money.