Miguel Cotto has been on a resurgence as of late since Freddie Roach took him under his wings, creating speculations that the Puerto Rican champion will have big-money fights in the near future.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Roach said that Cotto is on his way to having big fights again after scoring a scintillating knockout win over Sergio Martinez on Saturday to capture the WBC middleweight title.
But when asked about a possible rematch between Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, Roach dismissed the possibility because both fighters are under his tutelage.
The Hall of Fame trainer admitted that Cotto is a bigger threat to Pacquiao now, compared to their first showdown in November 2009 wherein the Filipino boxing icon scored a 12th-round technical knockout win, but Roach insisted that pitting his fighters against each doesn't make sense.
"I'm kind of glad that they're growing out of each other's weight classes, so I don't have to worry about it so much," Roach said. "But he'd give Manny a lot more trouble [doing it] this way, yes."
Pacquiao, who recently recaptured the WBO welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley in their rematch, is set to make his return on November 22 in Macau.
Top Rank Promotions chief Bob Arum, whose company recently inked a two-year extension with the former pound-for-pound king, also insisted that a rematch between Cotto and Pacquiao is not a part of their future plans.
"Manny [against Cotto], I ain't going there," Arum said. "Manny is my fighter. I'm not going there. I don't need the Philippine writers [calling me], keeping me from going to sleep."
If there's one fight that intrigues both of them, it's a rematch between Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who defeated the newly-crowned middleweight champion in May 2012.
And if Mayweather agrees to face Cotto again, Roach is confident that his fighter will emerge victorious, insisting that the reigning pound-for-pound king has lost a step.
"It won't be the same fight. Miguel would knock him out this time. Mayweather can't move anymore. I don't think he can get away from Miguel's punches. Miguel would get him out of there, but I don't think he'll fight us. I think he'll fight someone else, but I would love to get that fight for Miguel," Roach said.
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