By Jason Kim: Unbeaten junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KO’s) is hoping he can take on the winner of the March 12th bout between WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Ricardo Mayorga. Martiroysan, 24, was hoping to be Cotto’s next opponent in March, but was passed over for the better known ex-two time world champion Mayorga, who at 37, probably is much less of a threat to beat Cotto compared to the younger, taller and faster Martiroysan.

However, Martiroysan is still interested in facing the winner of this bout if possible. The chances of that happening are slim and none. Cotto’s promoter Bob Arum is looking to match Cotto against Antonio Margarito in a big money rematch in the summer. If Cotto is still in one piece after that fight and comes out on top, Arum will then likely put Cotto in with Manny Pacquiao in a rematch. That fight will give Cotto another huge payday, and much bigger than he would get in facing the dangerous Martiroysan.

It’s very likely that Martiroysan, if he’s ever going to get a shot against Cotto at all, he’ll have to wait until next year or possibly later. It’s not a win-win fight for Cotto because even if he beats the still relatively unknown Martiroysan, he won’t get much from it because Martiroysan isn’t well known among casual boxing fans, and this fight would be a hard sell. It would be asking a lot of boxing fans to purchase a fight between Cotto and Martiroysan on pay-per-view, and that’s the only way that Cotto will make money.