For several weeks Miguel Cotto dramatically took his time when deciding whether or not to accept $10 million from Golden Boy Promotions to face Canelo Alvarez, or square off with Sergio Martinez for the WBC middleweight championship.
Eventually, Alvarez's timetable didn't work for the Puerto Rican pugilist; Canelo plans on fighting three times in 2014, and his current date is March 8th. Also, Cotto has made no secret of his desire to make Puerto Rican boxing history by winning four titles in four different weight classes.
Canelo moved on to Alfredo Angulo, but Cotto may be regretting his decision. Due to inactivity, Martinez's WBC belt will be taken away and put up for grabs in an interim title fight between Marco Antonio Rubio and Domenico Spada, with "Maravilla" getting first dibs on a title shot.
Right now Canelo is promoting the fight with Angulo as a "fight for the fans," largely because of Angulo's tendency to engage in action fights. Still, a clash with Cotto was what the fans really wanted for the young Mexican star. He wants it too, apparently.
"It's a fight we all know has to happen down the line, but it didn't happen now and we're focused on march 8th and Alfredo Angulo," Alvarez said. "And when we get to that [Cotto] we'll concentrate on that one."
Despite the controversy about Martinez's title, Cotto vs. Martinez is still expected to go down on June 7th. Cotto remains optimistic about facing Canelo, and may still do so this year.
"After June we have six months, and at any time in those six months we can stage a fight with Canelo," Cotto said. Because he's moving up in weight, it's likely Cotto could still get the matchup with Alvarez even if he loses to Sergio.
As for Canelo, the Angulo fight promises to be his first truly exciting fight in quite some time, after battling back-to-back defensive opponents in Austin Trout and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Don't expect him to go out of his way for a knockout though.
"I never prepare to go looking for a knockout," Alvarez said. "I go in there ready to do my fight and make my plan but obviously if the opportunity comes you bet I'll go after it."
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