As he prepares to take on Floyd Mayweather on May 5, Miguel Cotto will share some of his thoughts with us.
In the first installment, Cotto discusses how he feels about where he is in his career.
Q: Some have said you aren't the same fighter you were before the 2008 defeat to Antonio Margarito. How would you compare today's Miguel Cotto to the fighter of four or five years ago?
Miguel Cotto: In December of 2011, I avenged my loss to Margarito with a TKO in the 10th round. I have grown as a fighter and proven that the 2008 fight does not define me. I am stronger, faster and more engaged in knowing what it takes to win a fight; 2011 proves just that.
My experience in training has evolved, and I have never been more ready in my life. My focus now isn't looking back, just forward. It's all about May 5 now and doing what I need to do to be as ready as I can be for that fight.
There's not a doubt in my mind that what you will see on May 5 exceeds who I was even in the December [2011] fight. I am at the top of my game and defeat is not a word in my vocabulary.
I think people like to look at past moments of defeat as hurdles, but my past has only accelerated me to here and now. I'm at a perfect place in my career for this. I have experience to know what it takes to win, but also the energy and aggression that it still takes to fight at this level.
I can assure fans that on May 5, the Miguel Cotto they will be seeing is the best Miguel Cotto they have ever seen fight. If I don't fight at the level, I not only let the fans down, I let myself down. I don't tend to entertain those thoughts. Winning is the only option and that is what I will do.
"Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto," will take place Saturday, May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
HBO's "24/7 Mayweather/Cotto" debuts Saturday, April 14 at 9:45 p.m. ET. The four-part series will air for three consecutive Saturday nights before the finale airs the night before the super welterweight championship showdown in Las Vegas.
