Update
Cotto has Confirmed this morning 3/5/15 that he indeed has signed a deal with Roc Nation Sports and Jay Z. Cotto up until this point was working on a no contract fight to fight sort of verbal contract if you can call it that, with Top Rank. This is a huge move by Cotto being the 3rd biggest PPV drawl behind Mayweather and Pacquiao. Look for an article with more details to follow.
The world has been waiting for Miguel Cotto’s next move. Industry rumors have been rampant about who he is fighting next, whether it be Cornelius Bundrage, Tim Bradley, or Brandon Rios. Another rumor has been that Cotto has been eyeing the idea of joining Jay-Z’ s promotional company, Roc Nation sports.
I spoke to a source early this week familiar with Miguel Cotto and Top Rank that said Miguel Cotto had indeed decided to join Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports and that it would be announced later this week. I reached out via email to Cotto’s advisor and lawyer Gabriel Peñagarícano early in the week that was not returned.
Now it seems that Cotto has a big announcement scheduled tomorrow on ESPN’s popular show First Take. Could that big announcement be that he’s joining Roc Nation? It would only seem fitting because why else would he need such a grand stage to announce a fight with Tim Bradley, K9 Bundrage, or Brandon Rios.
Roc Nation has only put one card thus far and has signed one of the boxing’s best boxers in Andre Ward. However, they don’t have a show scheduled until June in New York. If you know anything about June boxing in New York then you know that’s a Miguel Cotto tradition.
Roc Nation had made efforts to sign boxers aligned with power broker Al Haymon and even won a purse bid to put on a fight between Peter Quillin and Matt Korobov for 1.4 million dollars. Quillin, a Haymon client, dropped his WBO Middleweight title and thus the bid never came through.
Roc Nation was also in an agreement to buy Gary Shaw Promotions and takeover his stable that included the likes of Bryant Jenning, Daniel Geale, Tureano Johnson, among others. But both sides mutually walked away on amicable terms.
I reached out to Roc Nation Sports, and its publicist said that she cannot confirm or deny the rumor, and there have been no press releases sent out yet. Also, put in a call to Bryan Perez, who did not pick up or respond to multiple attempts to get him on the phone. When I reached out to offices of Promociones Miguel Cotto, they said Hector Soto and Miguel Cotto were on a plane to the United States, meaning they may be on their way to Bristol, Connecticut.
If Cotto does become a Roc Nation fighter, Roc Nation gets its biggest draw to date. Boxing fans what do you think Cotto will announce tomorrow? And how does he fit in with Roc Nation?
