Thursday, May 2, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.
For the sake of a reference point, Bob Arum used the names of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. when asked about Miguel Cotto.
More impressively, the promoter not only likened Cotto to De La Hoya and Mayweather but said the 21-year-old Puerto Rican is superior to them at a comparable age.
"He's much more stable than Oscar and Floyd were at that age," Arum said Wednesday at the Orleans, where Cotto shares headlining status for a Top Rank card Friday. "Oscar and Floyd were typical guys who had ladies throwing themselves at them, but Miguel comes from a solid family and he doesn't get distracted.
"He's certainly more mature in the ring than Oscar and Floyd once were. I think, at this stage, he has more potential than either Oscar or Floyd."
That's pretty high praise for a young man whose eight previous opponents had a cumulative record of 57-43-2 and whose upcoming opponent, Juan Angel Macias, is a pedestrian 26-16-2.
But neither Arum nor Cotto is inclined to rush things, and the 2000 Olympian will make his Las Vegas debut against an opponent he is apt to dominate.
"I don't know anything about (Macias)," Cotto said in a mixture of Spanish and improving English, which he has been studying for eight months. "By his record, he's experienced. But I'm going to win the fight. I'm prepared, physically and mentally."
Macias, 31, has not won any of his six previous fights and has won only three of his most recent 15 outings. It's clear he's in there to become a footnote in Cotto's career.
"This is the boxing capital of the world and it's important to look good," Cotto said of appearing here for the first time. "It's very exciting for me."
A decent 95-23 as an amateur, Cotto is a junior welterweight who feels he's one or two years from a championship and its accompanying stardom.
"I need another five or six fights," he said. "I need to continue training and facing fighters with different styles. I've improved but I've still got a lot to learn."
When asked what he has gained from his first eight pro bouts, six of which ended in a knockout, Cotto said it hasn't always been tangible.
"I've had good days and bad days," he said. "But professional fighters have a lot of experience and if you want to be the best, like I do, then you have to learn from your mistakes."
Arum said Cotto is making surprisingly few.
"I'm not kidding," he said. "Cotto is like a veteran. I don't think there is such a thing as rushing him along."
Cotto's driving may be another matter, however. Last Aug. 18 he fell asleep at the wheel while cruising near his home in Caguas at 5:30 a.m. and crashed into a concrete wall.
His arm and shoulder were broken in four places.
"I'm OK now," he said, and he has a pair of second-round knockouts to his credit since the accident. "But it was a grave mistake."
Cotto added that he hasn't felt pressured since turning pro and his eyes came alive when current 140-pound champ Kostya Tszyu was mentioned to him.
"I think I'm going to fight him," he said, hopeful that Tszyu can hang on to his belts for another year or two.
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