Cotto To Meet Contender Gomez

The cat was out of the bag, thanks to boxrec.com, so Bob Arum has confirmed a poorly kept secret: Miguel Cotto will take on Contender alumnus Alfonso Gomez on April 12 in Atlantic City.

Arum confirmed the Cotto date to Dan Rafael, and while some Ts need crossing, according to Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels, this deal will get done.

Cotto may draw from heat from netfans who demand he fight only megafights and mega-names, but I have a gut feeling this fight will be a doozy.

Gomez is a man of destiny, I do believe, and while I think he is in a different skill class than Cotto, who at times outboxed master boxer Shane Mosley in November, he will believe in his heart that he can knock Cotto off his 31-0 perch.

Gomez, age 27, is a Mexican born California resident who sent Arturo Gatti to the golf course in July 2007, and took a UD10 from Ben Tackie in October in his last outing.

His record stands at 18-3, with losses coming to Peter Manfredo, Jesse Feliciano and Ishe Smith.

Cotto, age 27, did crave a megafight, and Arum worked hard to land him Mayweather or De La Hoya, so he can't be faulted for taking a “stay busy” fight.

AND: Kermit Cintron (29-1) will get a chance to rectify when he meets up with again with Antonio Margarito. Cintron got stopped in the fifth round of their 2005 encounter, but has since rebuilt his standing by hooking up with Manny Steward. Anyone not enthused with the choice of Gomez for Cotto should be cheered up by this pairing. Cintron, age 28, has won five straight since Margarito schooled him, and he holds the IBF 147 pound crown. The 29-year-old Margarito steamrolled Golden Johnson in a statement fight in November after losing a decision to longarm Paul Williams in July 2007.