By Dan Ambrose: Former two division world champion Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KO’s) is in the best shape he’s been in many years, and is already within a few pounds of the 154 pound weight limit for his bout against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) next week on March 12th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vevas, Nevada. Cotto, 30, is probably expecting this fight to be just a tune-up for him, and just another payday before his proposed rematch with Antonio Margarito this summer.

However, Mayorga, 37, intends on spoiling things for Cotto by beating him up, knocking him out and then moving on to get a big money fight against Manny Pacquiao. Mayorga will be spoiling all the best plans of Bob Arum, Cotto’s promoter, who was the one that picked out the rusty Mayorga out of the other potential opponents for Cotto to fight in his tune-up bout. Arum wants to put Cotto in with Margarito and then perhaps Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., if he beats WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik in June, and then maybe even another fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Mayorga is going to be looking to ruin Arum’s vision by knocking out his number #2 cash cow and giving him a terrible beating in the process. Cotto’s trainer Emanuel Steward is talking about trying to get Cotto to box more in this fight so that he can avoid Mayorga’s hard shots and avoid getting beaten up again like he was in losses to Pacquiao and Margarito. Boxing and Cotto just don’t seem to go together unfortunately. Steward wants to change Cotto’s style of fighting but that may be easier said than done. Cotto will be the same fighter he’s always been on March 12th and will take a terrible beating by Mayorga. That’s how I see this one ending. It’s going to go badly for Cotto and end with a lot of blood.