Puerto Rican legend and guaranteed future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto says he will fight until the end of next year and then retire. The former four weight king, speaking with Carlos Narvaez of El Vocero newspaper, said he will continue working with Roc Nation, “with the same intensity,” but that after December 31 2017 he will fight no more.
Cotto, 40-5(33) and now aged 36, has not fought since dropping a competitive decision to Canelo Alvarez, in a middleweight title fight, last November 21. There is a possibility the two will meet in a rematch, but Cotto insists such a fight will have to happen before the end of next year or it will not happen.
“I have a contracted fight with the people of Roc Nation and 2017 is the final year of Miguel Cotto in boxing,” Cotto said to Narvaez. “If they [Golden Boy and Canelo] want a fight to materialise, they have until December 31 to do so. The ball is in the court of Golden Boy. To make the fight an even match, the only thing they have to manage is the weight [it would be fought at] – 154 or 155. We would have to reach an agreement on this.”
Cotto added how winning another world title is no huge incentive to him at this, the final stage of his great career. It seems Cotto – who quite literally fought everyone during a pro career that began in February of 2001, including: Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and Alvarez – wants to leave the sport on a win.
But will Canelo want to fight Cotto a second time, at 154 or 155? Alvarez has spoken of his interest in meeting Cotto for a second time – it would be “an honour,” he stated earlier this year – but the Mexican star has also spoken of working his way up to full middleweight. How would fight fans react if Alvarez signed on for a rematch with Cotto, at a catch-weight, instead of giving us the fight we all want, between he and Gennady Golovkin?
Alvarez-Cotto was a good, engrossing fight, but do we really need to see it again? That said, warrior Cotto has more than earned the right to bring down the curtain on his fine career with whichever fight he wants.