Boxing News 2014: Juan Manuel Marquez Could Face Miguel Cotto in Next Fight
Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain said that Juan Manuel Marquez is willing to face reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in his next fight.
Beristain said in an interview with BoxingScene that a showdown between Cotto and Marquez will be a sensational fight, not only because it would revive the rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The veteran trainer said that a Cotto-Marquez showdown will be action-packed, saying that the Puerto Rican champion is one of the best fighters in the world, and has improved a lot since hiring Freddie Roach as his new trainer.
"For me it would be a sensational fight, both are equipped with a high school in boxing technique," Beristain said. "I've always viewed Cotto as one of the most technical fighters today, beyond what he's done with Freddie Roach and everyone knows that Marquez is a the best fighter from Mexico to take part in the art. It would be a great fight."
However, Beristain reiterated that they will only face the 160-pound champion at a reasonable catchweight to negate Cotto's size advantage over Marquez, who has been fighting at the welterweight division over his last several fights.
"We would have to reach a good agreement [regarding the weight]. To fight at 150-pounds does not seem bad, or even a little less," Beristain said.
Cotto, who won the WBC middleweight title against Sergio Martinez in June, was originally scheduled to defend his crown for the first time on Dec. 13 at the Madison Square Garden.
However, Cotto announced on Wednesday that he will not fight again this year. The 33-year-old did not reveal any reason, but Roach said that Cotto moved his first title defense because he did not want to train in the Philippines while the Hall of Fame trainer is preparing Manny Pacquiao for his next fight.
"It looks like we're going to pass on that date because Miguel did not want to go to the Philippines to train and share camps with Manny. It's just spreading things a little bit too thin with me," Roach told BoxingScene.
Cotto is reportedly eyeing a showdown with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez or a title-unification bout against World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
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