COTTO LETS FISTS DO HIS TALKING

The debate rages on among boxing fans: Just who is the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter?

Manny Pacquiao's fans say the current WBC lightweight champ reigns supreme. Joe Calzaghe's legion of admirers in the United Kingdom cast their vote for the light heavyweight star from Wales. Kelly Pavlik's blue-collar supporters in Youngstown, Ohio, say the world middleweight champ is the man.

So where does that leave Miguel Cotto?

The WBA welterweight champion, who puts his title on the line this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden against hard-hitting Mexican star Antonio Margarito, said he's staying out of the debate.

"I've trained hard for nine or 10 weeks to win and return to Puerto Rico with my belt," Cotto said. "I had a really good camp and when I beat Margarito it is not up to myself to decide that. I will do my work in the ring the best I can. The writers and the people who know about boxing who make those lists can answer that question."

Cotto, who is undefeated at 32-0 with 26 knockouts, said his legacy is still being crafted. But he does have another goal besides retaining his belt.

"I have some goals left," he said. "One is to stay unbeaten. I always climb into the ring to win the fight. If you ask me to put me on a scale with other boxers I am going to put Miguel Cotto as high on the list as I can. But only with my success in the ring."

At 27, Cotto appears to be still peaking as a fighter. His 12-round win over Shane Mosley last year and his impressive performance in scoring a fifth-round TKO win over Alfonzo Gomez seem to indicate he is on top of his game. He has made four successful title defenses since winning the WBA crown in December 2006. He has made the adjustment from 140 to 147 pounds with little difficulty.

"When you destroy yourself to make a lower weight you suffer the consequences in the ring," Cotto said. "Now I feel more comfortable at 147 pounds and the people who see my fights at 147 can see that."

Bob Arum, the chairman of Top Rank Inc., who promotes Cotto, said it would have been career suicide for Cotto to stay at 140.

"After his last fight at 140, (Top rank president) Todd duBoef took Miguel to a high velocity trainer in Los Angeles and they did a complete evaluation," Arum said. "They said you have to be crazy to fight Miguel at 140 pounds because in order to make the weight he was burning muscle.

"In the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the fight he put the weight back on but he didn't put the muscle back on. Therefore, he was getting tired in the ring and he was getting weak and wobbled by punches. One hundred forty-seven is his natural weight and it has been tremendous for him."

Cotto last fought at 140 pounds on June 10, 2006, when he scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Paulie Malignaggi. The added weight should help him when it comes to absorbing the body blows that Margarito intends to rain on him Saturday.

"When I train, I try to get my body in the best shape I can," Cotto said. "I have trained so hard for Margarito that my trainers know I have nothing left to give."

Cotto said that by doing his best and continuing to win, he will keep himself in the pound-for-pound conversation. At the same time, he will confirm his legacy as one of Puerto Rico's great champions, right up there with Felix Trinidad, Wilfredo Gomez, Hector "Macho" Camacho, Wilfred Benitez and Jose Torres.

''I try to bring the best Miguel Cotto into the ring that I possibly can," he said. "The determination and dedication in the last three years for me, the people that write about boxing see the pleasure Miguel Cotto brings into the ring, the Miguel Cotto that can box and can move.

"When there is someone who can do that, you are a complete boxer. They are the kind of fighters that people want to see. Someone would remember Miguel Cotto in those kinds of fights is proof that the hard work pays off."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.