By Eric Thomas: If 34-year-old former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey (36-4, 21 KO’s) can catch a lucky break, he’ll be fighting the winner of the December 3rd fight between World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.

Both Cotto and Margarito have beaten Clottey in the past in exciting fights, and it makes sense for Bob Arum, the promoter for all three fighters, to set this match up because it would be a nice little in house fight for Top Rank and Arum.

However, Clottey has done pretty much zilch since being dominated by Manny Pacquiao in a 12 round decision loss last year in March. Clottey sat out 20 months doing nothing until making a comeback last week and stopping Calvin Green in the 2nd round. It was an impressive performance by Clottey, but then again he wasn’t anyone dangerous.

It was a nice soft fight for Clottey. I think a Clottey fight would be a good one for Cotto to help milk his title for a little longer, but I can think of a lot better options than Clottey if Cotto and/or Margarito want to get a bigger payday. Clottey has sat out too long and he really hurt himself with the inactivity.

The winner of the Cotto-Margarito bout would be better off facing Vanes Martirosyan or James Kirkland. Those are guys that have been staying active as of late. Kirkland would be the better fight because he took a big risk recently in taking on and defeating Alfredo Angulo.

Martirosyan hasn’t take any real risks with his career yet and it’s slowed his popularity among boxing fans. However, it’s doubtful that Arum will want to put the winner of the Cotto vs. Margarito bout against Kirkland because he’s not a Top Rank fighter and would likely beat Cotto and Margarito the way he’s looking now.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Clottey facing the Cotto-Margarito winner, even though both of them have already beaten him and it’s kind of a pointless fight.