Miguel Cotto is close to naming his next opponent, and if El Vocero is correct, he will be in the ring this June against another Argentine opponent, albeit one with less name value than Sergio Martinez. Rumor has it that Cotto is going to name Jorge Sebastian Heiland as his opponent for a June bout at Madison Square Garden for his WBC middleweight title.
Heiland will enter the ring with a 25-4-2 record that includes 13 knockouts. Heiland has very little name value, largely because he has never fought in the United States before. His biggest win was his last one-a 10th-round knockout of veteran middleweight Matthew Macklin.
"It's a very doable fight because Gaby Peñagarícano is the advisor Heiland. It is a fight that is almost certain," a source in Argentina told El Vocero. "HBO is not interested in the fight because it seems more like a fight that took Cotto with Delvin Rodriguez. But they are able to accept it if its conditions are met: the fight with 'Canelo' is signed."
Negotiations between Cotto and Alvarez fell apart earlier this year because Cotto's side allegedly was dragging out the talks. Some believe he was holding out hope for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he was able to come to terms with Manny Pacquiao for a May 2 bout. By then Alvarez had shut down talks in frustration and agreed to fight James Kirkland in May.
Cotto has been called out multiple times by WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, but Cotto and his team have not shown any interest in facing him. Golovkin is the mandatory challenger for Cotto's belt, and if Cotto decides to fight Alvarez after Heiland, he will likely have to vacate his middleweight crown.
Amir Khan has also come up as a potential opponent for Cotto, and he recently discussed it with Tha Boxing Voice. "It's a big fight. Styles make fights and I really believe that I have the style to really give him big problems," Khan said, while noting that a catch weight of 155 pounds would need to be in place. Because of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, Khan vs. Cotto would not be possible in June.
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