Floyd Mayweather Jr., welterweight champion will rise in weight and challenge junior middleweight titleholder Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted 5-0 to grant Mayweather a 1-fight license at the conclusion of a 1 hour hearing. Football lines

“Miguel Cotto is a world -class fighter who can’t ever be taken lightly and keep on to prove he is among the best in boxing,” said Mayweather, whose long-discussed match with Manny Pacquiao has been put off once again. “It will be a challenge for me to contest with him at this weight, but this is the kind of examination I thrive on and gives me the incentive to train even tougher. I haven’t any doubt in my mind that my title belt collection will increase once again and Cotto’s reign as champ will come to an end on May 5.”

Mayweather (42-0, Twenty-six KOs) has had one prior fight in the 154-pound division, and it was when he outpointed Oscar De La Hoya to win a belt in May 2007. Football betting lines

The choice of Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) as the opponent for the fight he was one of the leading names to get the fight along with fellow titleholder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Besides Mayweather and Pacquiao, Cotto is the subsequent largest pay-per-view event in boxing.

“I’m here to battle the biggest names in boxing,” claimed Puerto Rico’s Cotto, a three-division owner. “I’ve never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted everything to give the fans what they like – fantastic and thrilling fights. That is what the sport of boxing is all around; producing the fights the fans desire and merit seeing. On May 5, stay tuned, since I’ll convincingly beat Floyd Mayweather.”

The 2 fighters have agreed to random blood and urine testing for the fight, which Mayweather has demanded of his up to date competitors.

“What we have here are 2 champions of amazing caliber set to meet in the ring on May 5 and give boxing and sports fans one of the most irresistibly matchups in the sport’s history,” claimed Golden Boy GM Richard Schaefer, who will be working with Mayweather on his 6th consecutive fight even though they do not have a long term agreement. “Floyd Mayweather has achieved international recognition as one of the best fighters ever and Miguel Cotto is among the greatest fighters of this era.

“I suggest both fighters for agreeing to fight each other on one of the biggest weekends for boxing and also endorse them for agreeing to take part in Olympic-style drug testing, a precedent set by Floyd, which continues to defend the integrity of the sport.”

Leonard Ellerbe one of Mayweather’s advisers related, “Floyd often asks us to locate the very best available competition for him to fight and we have found that in Miguel Cotto. This is a really dangerous fight for Floyd as Miguel is a solid 154-pound champion who has proved to have excellent boxing capabilities and to be a particularly acceptable and strong puncher. This is a large test for Floyd, but as always I think, he is the better fighter with unmatched talents. This will produce the distinction and head directly to another Mayweather success the night of May 5.”

Cotto, 31year-old, who will be getting the 3rd defense of his title, will be in a fight without Top Rank as his promoter for the 1st time in his career. His agreement with Bob Arum’s company expired following his December 3 revenge, 10th-round knockout victory against Antonio Margarito and he is going to be working with Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank’s archrival, on the fight with Mayweather.

When Mayweather, who turns 35 on February 24, and Cotto were both promoted by Top Rank one or two years back their consequent meeting was often discussed but never came around. Now it has with another firm.

Top Rank executive director Todd duBoef, the individual at Top Rank closest to Cotto, wished him well.

“Miguel Cotto is at a point in his career where he has revealed specific parameters that he wants only the largest fights and this is one,” duBoef declared. “We have a great association and I think it is a credit to our relationship with him and where he’s in the sector that he could be a celebrity because of our efforts together and I only wish him luck.”

Top Rank may likely have liked to continue promoting Cotto and had tried to deal a rematch between him and Pacquiao, but the fighters couldn’t acknowledge on the weight. Pacquiao desired Cotto to come down several pounds to meet him at a catch weight between 147 and 154 pounds. DuBoef said he respected that Cotto called him to tell him about the deal with Mayweather.

“I give him an incredible quantity of credit as he reached out to me personally and asserted this was a great opening,” duBoef related. “He had to watch out for his family and this was the most important thing out there. So for the following a quarter he is tied to a fight for a stupendous chance. It’s terrific for him. When he’s done with the fight and what we do after that we’ll talk about it.”