Floyd Mayweather to face Miguel Cotto on May 5 in Las Vegas

Floyd Mayweather will step up to light middleweight to face the WBA ‘Super World’ champion Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 5.

Mayweather again gets the chance to win a world title at 154lbs before serving an 87 day prison sentence for a domestic violence conviction. He last fought as a light middleweight when he outpointed then WBC champion Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007.

Though it isn’t the match-up with Manny Pacquiao that many had hoped for, the fight represents a more serious threat to Mayweather’s unbeaten record. Cotto stopped the Mexican Antonio Margarito to defend his WBA title in his last fight and is a three-weight world champion.

"Miguel Cotto is a world class fighter who can never be taken for granted and continues to prove he is one of the best in boxing," said Mayweather, a five-weight world champion and thought by many to be the world’s greatest pound-for-pound fighter.

"It will be a challenge for me to compete with him at this weight, but this is the type of test I thrive on and gives me the motivation to train even harder. I have no doubt in my mind that my title belt collection will increase once again and Cotto's reign as champion will come to an end on May 5."

Puerto Rican Cotto, who was stopped in the 12th round against Pacquiao during their 2009 fight for the WBO welterweight belt, said: "I am here to fight the biggest names in boxing. I've never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted everything to give the fans what they like...great and exciting fights.

“That is what the sport of boxing is all about; making the fights that the fans want and deserve to see. On May 5, stay tuned, because I will convincingly beat Floyd Mayweather."

Crucially, the fight is set for 154lbs, with both men agreeing to Olympic-style drug testing. Mayweather last fought at welterweight when he controversially beat Victor Ortiz in September. Other recent opponents, such as Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez, have had to fight out of their favoured weight divisions to his advantage, while drug testing is widely considered to be one of the many factors to have prevented any fight with Pacquiao from being agreed.

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