Canelo Alvarez might be the biggest star in boxing not named Floyd Mayweather Jr., but veteran trainer Robert Garcia thinks that the Mexican icon might be in trouble if he gets his wish for his next fight-a shot at Miguel Cotto's WBC middleweight title.
"That's a fight that I'd like to see," Garcia said. "Honestly, maybe I'm wrong in saying this but I pick Cotto to win. Cotto is experienced, he's been in there with the best. He's lost to great warriors, great champions. He's done it all and beat great champions too.
"Canelo, the only big fight he had was against Mayweather and he failed. Fighting Perro Angulo and against Erislandy Lara was a great test, and a lot of people thought he lost to Lara. And that's why, and I might be wrong, I pick Cotto."
Cotto vs. Alvarez has been rumored for quite some time, and heralded as one of the biggest potential bouts in years. Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, Alvarez's promoter, has trumped it up as the next in line of a series of legendary fights between Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters.
"July 12 is very important toward possibly seeing the pugilistic rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico once again. It would be Salvador [Sanchez] vs. [Wilfredo] Gomez, [Julio Cesar] Chavez Sr. vs [Edwin] Rosario, De la Hoya vs. [Felix] Trinidad. Huge!" De La Hoya said after Cotto dismantled Sergio Martinez for the middleweight strap.
While Garcia was high on Cotto's chances against the popular fighter, he was down on both regarding a matchup with Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, considered the top middleweight in the world.
"Golovkin showed to me that he's the real deal," Garcia said. "But he needs those types of opponents and he may never have them, to become the next Manny Pacquiao. Since Pacquiao was at featherweight he was fighting the best up to welterweight and junior middleweight. Golovkin is going to have a problem because there are no opponents.
"But either Cotto or Canelo would give him a good fight. I don't see them beating Golovkin, but they give him a good fight."
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