By Dan Ambrose: WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) has been through a lot of wars in the past four years, and he’s taken too much punishment for his own good. His promoter Bob Arum has been doing his best to keep Cotto winning, but it’s getting harder because he doesn’t seem to be the same fighter he once was in his prime. The beatings to Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao, plus the god awful punishment Cotto took in wins over Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey has caused some deterioration in Cotto’s game.

And on top of that, Cotto recently had shoulder surgery after his win over Yuri Foreman last June. Cotto, rather than taking it easy with a nice weak-puncher like Foreman, will be fighting the hard hitting Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) on March 12th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayorga is old at 37-years-old, and not quite the same fighter he once was back in 2003 when a prime Mayorga beat Vernon Forrest in back to back fights.

Mayorga has aged since then and put on fat seems to be part of him now, as he’s not taken off. However, Mayorga realizes how important his fight with Cotto is and wants to get in the best possible shape to ensure that he makes the most of this huge opportunity.

A win over Cotto means big money for Mayorga because he’ll likely then get a fight against Antonio Margarito, and a win over him might lead to a jackpot fight against Manny Pacquiao. An in shape Mayorga will be very tough on Cotto, because he’s taken too many head shots and may be unable to tkae a lot of punishment against Mayorga without quitting mentally. Even if Mayorga is still out of shape, if he can fight hard for six rounds at least, he’s got a great chance of knocking Cotto out or making him quit on his knee.