Miguel Cotto has shown no interest in fighting Gennady Golovkin in a middleweight unification fight, and with Manny Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 Cotto's options are very thin if he is hoping to land a pay-per-view fight. If that is a goal, Cotto's only choice may be to take on British star Amir Khan at a catch weight, and possibly contest his WBC middleweight belt at 155 pounds.
Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage, the junior middleweight IBF champion, was a frontrunner for a while to face Cotto next, but Top Rank may have swooped in and grabbed him to fight vs. Timothy Bradley this summer. With K-9 possibly out, attention has turned to a little-known Argentinian fighter named Jorge Sebastian Heiland, who has never fought on American soil and assuredly would not be a pay-per-view candidate.
Cotto has not said it's important to fight on pay-per-view, but taking on an unknown opponent would further squander the momentum he built by knocking off the heavily favored Sergio Martinez last June, especially when a popular champion in the same division is eagerly calling him out.
Claiming Golovkin does not have a big enough name will not fly for many fans if he settles on Bundrage or Heiland, meaning a Khan fight may save face. The issue with Khan is that he only has two fights above 140 pounds under his belt, and has suffered knockouts at lighter weight classes. Khan is willing to take the fight though, and believes he has the advantages.
"I think with my speed, movement, and the way I've been fighting under Virgil Hunter, I think it will be a great fight for me," Khan said. "I know that he is a lot heavier than me, but doing that fight at a catch weight would be amazing."
Khan is an opponent with a larger following than Golovkin, but he does not solve the perception issue of Cotto seeking out smaller opponents. His avoidance of Golovkin has tarnished his Martinez victory some, and made it appear as if he capitalized on a shot fighter, rather than moved up to face a champion still near his prime. .
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.