For all of the griping going on in regards to Miguel Cotto and how he’s being perceived heading into his middleweight title clash with Daniel Geale this Saturday night on HBO, it would best serve everyone to remember what a win would mean for the Puerto Rican superstar.
Should Cotto get past Geale, a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is on the horizon and would be all but guaranteed.
Of course, we can’t forget that Canelo-Cotto was supposed to happen already and it was believed to be both fighters’ next fight, but it was derailed after Cotto stopped negotiating.
Once Cotto began actively dragging his feet, Canelo moved on to James Kirkland, soon after the fight between Cotto and Geale was announced.
The argument can be made that Cotto, who seems to be in the business of making the best fights as difficult to finalize as possible, could refrain from fighting Canelo once again.
However, when you look at the moves that were made on the part of Miguel following the Canelo disappointment it is clear that he wanted to position himself before making the mega fight.
The fight was originally being negotiated between Golden Boy and Top Rank, however Cotto would end up leaving Top Rank out to dry in preference of signing a major deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports.
This was certainly Cotto’s prerogative, and now that he is presumably happy with his current circumstances it stands to reason that the Canelo fight can come off without issue, excluding the Geale factor, which isn’t smart at this juncture.
Regardless, HBO Sports President Ken Hershman acknowledges the fact that Cotto-Canelo is a huge fight that looms close by. In an interview with Thaboxingvoice.com’s Nestor Gibbs, Hershman is adment about not looking past Cotto-Geale while admitting that hopes are high for the potential Mexico VS Puerto Rico rivalry.
“Look, that’s obviously a great fight (Canelo-Cotto). I think we have to get through Saturday night. We’ve seen when you look past opponents that bad things can happen. I’m focused on Saturday night. I know Miguel and Daniel Geale are focused on Saturday night, and then we’ll have that conversation. Canelo-Cotto is a fantastic fight; no one would deny that. If we can get there, great, but let’s get through Saturday night and see what happens,” Hershman told Thaboxingvoice.com.
While Hershman contends that nothing is concrete, he does admit that all parties involved are interested in making Cotto-Canelo a reality, and he is already envisioning the fight being a huge PPV success and is ready to do his part to make it happen depending on Saturday’s outcome.
“We’re the television network. That fight, it would be a PPV event, clearly. We’re here to help. Whatever the two sides need to bridge whatever gaps there are and make sure that fight happens, we’re here to make sure we put our best foot forward and we’re there to support both sides. We think this fight is eminently doable. There’s a lot of money in it for everybody. The fans want it, the network wants it, and we know the two fighters want it. We’ll see if we can get there. I don’t want to look past Saturday night. There’s a lot on the line, let’s see what happens.”
