What Cotto vs Mayweather means to me.

It means everything to me.

Miguel Cotto is the reason why i became an avid boxing fan. The reason why i spend hours a day watching and studying the sweet science. The reason why i fell in love with the sport of boxing.

Why Miguel Cotto you might ask? It's simple. When Cotto was on the rise to becoming one of the best, he was my dad's favorite fighter at the time. That alone gave me a reason to find out why. A reason to sit down and bond with my father. An opportunity to share a connection with him. Not only that, I quickly learned that Miguel Cotto is the perfect example for what it means to 'leave it all in the ring.' The emotion, the explosiveness, the damage, the pain and sacrifice, and the glory that comes along with it.

My father and I watched as Cotto went hand to hand with the very best, the hardest punchers and the most dangerous. From Ricardo Torres to the Zab Judahs and Sugar Shanes, Miguel Cotto was victorious in every single professional bout of his career leading to his first defeat. Not only a defeat but an annihilation by the hands of Antonio Margarito. I recall telling my father and a close friend of how Miguel was going to kick Antonio's ass, only to be forewarned by my dad of how dangerous Margarito is and how close of a fight it would become. He was right. And I was taught my first lesson of boxing. Anything's possible.

Anything can happen on any giving night I learned. Miguel Cotto will come back and rise to the top once again I thought to myself. And so when I found out he was going to face Manny Pacquiao, I knew I had to be there live. There I was, in the sold out MGM, watching as the fighters entered the ring. I called my dad and barely being able to make out what he was saying due to the eruption of the crowd, I could hear my dad saying, 'Cotto's going to win! He's going to beat Pacquiao!' If you were fortunate enough to see that fight in person or live on HBO PPV, you sure as hell got your moneys worth. And yet again, witnessed Cotto being defeated by an onslaught of vicious and hard hitting power punches which eventually stopped him late in the fight. A kiss on the forehead from his father was all there was left to end the night.

After Miguel Cotto's brutal second tko loss of his career, many thought he was finished. Damage goods and past his best days are some of the things that were being said about Miguel by fans and experts alike. Even Cotto himself seemed to lose faith in himself. His love for the sport had vanished. His comments of walking away from the squared circle were accepted. Nobody wanted to see Miguel suffer another horrendous loss and felt that he gave enough to the sport, to the fans and the boxing community. He took on the best and enough was enough.

Shortly after Cotto's second career defeat, his beloved father passed away at the young age of 57. Miguel Cotto snr. not only stood by and believed in Cotto in all that he did, he was a loving and giving father. A family man. These were very hard times for Miguel Angel Cotto and his family. The people gave their full support and condolences. As time passed, Cotto sought out to prove himself once again. Facing the likes of Yuri Foreman, an undefeated junior middleweight champion, Cotto stepped into the ring for the first time ever without his father. Miguel quickly reminded us, that his father was there. He carried his father with him in spirit whom had his back at all times. Even though you couldn't see Miguel snr. physically, you could see he was inside of Miguel jnr. As one they walked and entered the ring with a purpose. Soaking in the moment, it was clear they were there to prove why they are in the fight game. Miguel Cotto had fallen in love with boxing once again. After a life time of prepartion, past grueling wars, and blood, sweat and tears, Cotto was here to stay, winning a tko over the undefeated Foreman in spectacular fashion.

Miguel Cotto went on to defeat the much larger and out-spoken opponent in Ricardo Mayorga. 'I'm not a clown,' Cotto stated as he mocked Mayorga. 'I'm a three divison world champion.' After defeating Mayorga via a twelfth round stoppage, Cotto was on a path towards redemption. His next foe, a rematch with Antonio Margarito was the last chapter. The end of any and all ghosts that may have haunted him will be extinguished with a victory. This was personal for Miguel. To him, it was a chance to prove he was cheated and was a chance to close the book that had no ending as of yet. My father and I watched the rematch and our tone was much different. I felt that if Cotto continued to take the vicious body punching of Margarito and didn't fire back to Margaritos body, Cotto would wear down and fall behind. My father said 'no, Cotto looks good man, hes going to beat him.' I as usual disagreed and felt somewhat worried. As you know, Cotto closed that book with a one-sided tko victory over the Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito. Moments after the referee haulted the bout, Miguel stood there, staring at Antonio, tasting and savoring his victory with a look of peace and content. What a moment. And overall, what a night that was. It's hard to believe that was the last Miguel Cotto fight my father and I got to watch together.

As we approach May 5th 2012, like Miguel Cotto did vs Yuri Foreman, for the first time.... ill be carrying my dad's spirit with me as we watch our favorite fighter attempt to make history in being the first to defeat Floyd Mayweather. Make us proud champ.