Miguel Cotto is reportedly close to finalizing his fight against Jorge Sebastian Heiland of Argentina, but the deal will depend on whether or not HBO will decide to carry the fight.

Cotto, who holds a 39-4 record with 32 knockouts, will defend his World Boxing Council middleweight title on June 6 either at the Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden in New York.

The fight between Cotto and Heiland is easy to make based on reports because both fighters are under legal adviser Gaby Peñagarícano.

"It's a very doable fight because Gaby Peñagarícano is the advisor to Heiland," a source privy to the negotiation told El Vocero. "It's a fight that is almost certain."

However, HBO will reportedly agree to the pay the license fee for the fight only if Cotto and his camp will agree to face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez later this year. Sources indicated that HBO wants to make sure that the Cotto-Alvarez fight will be finalized, fearing that the Cotto-Heiland showdown will not do good numbers in terms of revenue.

"HBO is not interested in the fight because they view more like the fight Cotto had with Delvin Rodriguez," the source continued. "But they are willing to accept it if their conditions are met - that a fight with Canelo is signed. So they are going to try to make the fight."

Cotto, who has not fought since capturing the title with 10th round win over Sergio Martinez in June last year, was linked to Alvarez earlier this year, but negotiations for the fight did not come to fruition.

Canelo's camp waited for Cotto to decide before they eventually pulled out of the negotiation to finalize a fight with James Kirkland, which is scheduled on May 16 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

Chepo Reynoso, Canelo's trainer, confirmed that they tried their best to make the fight happen by giving into the demands of Cotto because they are convinced the showdown is the best option for both fighters. However, Cotto did not decide before the deadline, which forced them to consider their next option.

"It's a fight people are interested to see because it's an attractive fight," Reynoso said of the Cotto-Alvarez fight. "On our part, we put in our all to try and make this fight. We lasted more than two months trying to negotiate. Cotto procrastinated in the end, and the fight didn't happen."

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