Miguel Cotto has two options that will appease a boxing community that is eager to see him face top competition now that he holds the lineal, WBC middleweight title. Canelo Alvarez has fully rebuilt his stock since a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013, while Gennady Golovkin holds two 160-pound titles and has knocked out 20 straight foes.
According to Cotto, who defends his title vs. Daniel Geale on June 6, he does not feel the heat from fans about his future. "I feel no pressure," Cotto told Fight Hype. "I'm always going to do what's best for me and my family. The only person who dictates what happens in my career is myself."
He also said that there are plans to fight Alvarez next if he can get past Geale. "We believe after this fight [against Geale], we have a verbal agreement with HBO, and we have a verbal agreement with Golden Boy [to face Canelo], but we'll see what happens after this."
Geale's promoter Gary Shaw believes all these plans are premature, however, and that Cotto has made an error in viewing Geale as a stepping stone to bigger fights. Shaw compared this bout to the fight Cotto lost in 2012 that had many fans thinking he was finished as an elite fighter.
Geale is not a southpaw like Trout, but Shaw said he can cause Cotto headaches all the same.
"I think this will be a lot like the fight with Trout. With a lot of movement and Miguel has problems with that. That's what gave Miguel problems with Trout. Daniel is a good fighter, and uses a lot of body movement," Shaw said.
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