Miguel Cotto Fighting in June and It Is Not With Juan Manuel Marquez
Miguel Cotto is planning to return to the ring this June but it will not be against Juan Manuel Marquez.
There are reportedly plans to have Cotto face off against Ruslan Provodnikov this June in what is being billed as a fight between two former champions.
The camps of both fighters are reportedly in talks. If successful, the fight will take place on June 18 and it will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Cotto last fought in November when he lost via unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez. The Puerto Rican lost his WBC lineal middleweight title at the time and nothing has been heard of him until that possible tiff with Marquez cropped up.
Trainer Freddie Roach was the first one to actually hint at it, calling it a perfect match. The only thing that he was wary of at the time was the real state of Marquez.
Marquez had been out of the ring for almost two years due to knee problems though the Mexican made it clear that he had not officially retired.
"El Dinamita" is apparently interested in the fight though he had stipulations that included the catchweight and a rehydration clause.
Also, Marquez wanted to have a tune-up fight first to determine if he could still stand toe-to-toe with Cotto which indicates that he may or may not take up the offer.
On the other side, Provodnikov’s last fight also came in November. He won via knockout over Jesus Rodriguez in Monaco and has been looking for a big name fight.
Until the name of Cotto surfaced, the former WBO junior welterweight champion was reportedly contemplating on a possible showdown with either Mauricio Herrera, Brandon Rios or Adrian Granados.
Lucas Matthysse was another boxer on the table but the Argentine boxer had reportedly rejected a possible rematch between the two. Matthysse won over Provodnikov in 2015 via majority decision.
Though a Cotto vs. Provodnikov should be interesting, the one with Marquez still looms like a better fight to look forward to.
But with stipulations that need to be settled plus the wait on whether Marquez can still compete with an equally powerful Cotto in the air, the chances of that happening hinge on the Mexican’s tune-up fight.
Marquez is eyeing a May return though nothing has been made official.
If he feels he can still handle Cotto, the shoe may be on the other foot. Roach feels that Cotto may have a hard time getting to the 147 lbs. catchweight.
"No [I don't think Cotto can make 147], but maybe 150. It would be a good fight. But can he make 147?....I don't think so," Roach said.
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