Boxing News 2014: Miguel Cotto Eyeing Showdown With Canelo Alvarez, Says Freddie Roach
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach said that Miguel Cotto is still interested in facing Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a super fight next year if both fighters emerge victorious in their upcoming fights.
Cotto will defend the World Boxing Council middleweight title on Dec. 13 at the Madison Square Garden in New York. No opponent has been named at this point, but Cotto's first middleweight title defense is already set in stone.
Alvarez, who is coming off a split decision win against Erislandy Lara in July, is also planning to fight again either in November or December.
Roach told BoxingScene that the Cotto-Alvarez showdown, which is expected to generate huge pay-per-view numbers, is a "very makeable" fight, especially if both Cotto and Canelo will impress in their next bouts.
When asked about Cotto's chances against Alvarez, who holds an impressive 44-1 record with 31 knockouts, Roach said that the Puerto Rican champion can handle the 24-year-old Mexican, reiterating that Canelo is not that great.
"I think he is a solid fighter, a pretty good puncher, but nothing too great," Roach said of Alvarez.
Aside from Alvarez, Cotto is also being linked to World Boxing Association and International Boxing middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, who could become the mandatory challenger for Cotto's WBC middleweight belt if he wins against Marco Antonio Rubio on Oct. 18 in California.
Roach said that they are also eyeing a title-unification bout against Golovkin, but only after a fight against Alvarez. The veteran trainer also laughed off accusations that they are afraid of the 32-year-old Kazakh, who has a 30-0 record with 27 knockout victories.
"We have no fear of him. He's hittable. He can punch a little bit. He's hittable and he doesn't have a great defense," Roach said of Golovkin. "He's a nice guy, a good fighter, real friendly guy and real polite. I met him a few times, he's a really nice gentleman. But boxing wise he's hittable and anyone who's like that I feel Miguel can hurt."
Roach is also unsure whether or not the Cotto-Golovkin fight will do good numbers, saying that Golovkin's handler has not marketed him well despite having an impressive record and knockout rate.
"On pay-per-view he can't do ten cents. Why fight a guy like that for no money? Unless he's bringing money to the table we're not going to fight him," Roach said.
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