It seems to be slim pickings for the newly crowned four-time divisional champion Miguel “Julito” Cotto of Puerto Rico. Even though many including Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr have mentioned his name, Cotto has not come out and said who he is willing to face next.
The thirty-three year old Cotto proved that after two high-profile losses to Austin Trout and Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2012, you can hire a new trainer in Freddie Roach and look spectacular against a B-level fighter in Delvin Rodriguez a year later. Eight months later you make history in becoming the first Puerto Rican fighter to win titles in four different weight classes with an impressive bludgeoning over ten rounds of defending WBC middleweight champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez of Argentina
Current WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin made a full-on call out of Cotto just this past weekend live on HBO during his post-fight interview with Max Kellerman after his third round destruction of Daniel Geale at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Golovkin didn’t stutter when Kellerman asked who he wanted next and he immediately said that even though he respects him, he wanted to unify against the Boricua fighter. Cotto lawyer and adviser, Gaby Peñagaricano, quickly released a statement saying that Golovkin was still in the minor leagues and that Cotto is only interested in major purse fights. Basically saying the risk was too large for the reward even if Cotto would have the opportunity to unify titles in the division.
A fight that Cotto was willing to take was one against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Chavez Jr, the man that Martinez defeated to re-capture the world title, has not fought at the middleweight limit since the night he lost his title back in 2012. Having fought only twice since then, Chavez Jr caused an uproar in his first fight back when the contracted weight for his first fight against Brian Vera wasn’t known until the day of the weigh-in finally settling at 172.5 pounds. In their rematch and Chavez Jr’s last fight, the son of the Mexican legend weighed in at 167.5 pounds.
Chavez Sr. was adamant in saying that Chavez Jr would be able to boil down to middleweight to challenge for his old title but Top Rank’s Bob Arum shook his head no and instead steered Chavez Jr towards a showdown with Carl Froch in early 2015.
The most viable fight big money fight Cotto is none other than against Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Not only would it be the next installment of the storied Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry, Alvarez is slowly becoming a respectable draw not only at the gate but now in the PPV market.
The only thing that stands in the way is the fact that Alvarez fights for Golden Boy Promotions and Cotto has a working relationship with Top Rank. According to the head of Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, that should not be an issue since he has vowed that his outfit will co-promote with his old promoter before the year is over.
