As Miguel Cotto tries to figure out his next opponent following an impressive win over Delvin Rodriguez, Top Rank and Golden Boy, rival boxing promotions that have set up camps on HBO and Showtime, respectively, are engaging in an escalating war of words.
The verbal fracas seems to have started when Arum hinted Cotto could possibly face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, since Canelo was a "free agent." Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer vehemently denied those claims, but the rumors have persisted. Now, Schaefer has gone on offense attacking Arum viciously in the media.
"The idiotic comments he's making about Canelo not being under contract," Schaefer said. "Canelo is under contract with Golden Boy and he is proud and happy to be under contract with us. Canelo will tell you himself and so will his managers. This guy [Arum] has totally lost it."
The root of the "free agency" rumors appears to stem from a legal battle with a man named Tutico Zabala, who claims Alvarez breached his contract with All Star Boxing when he joined Golden Boy. Schaefer said Zabala and Arum are close, and now are spreading rumors.
"Tutico and him are like buddies, and then you have another 100-year-old guy in Mexico [Rafael] Mendoza who thinks he knows everything. That guy doesn't know s--t. He should worry more about promoting fighters under contract instead of promoting fighters he doesn't have under contract."
Schaefer's assault didn't stop there, as he went on to call Arum on the carpet for shady dealings and backstabbing in the past involving Al Haymon. Haymon, who represents Floyd Mayweather Jr., has his fighters perform almost exclusively on Showtime.
Rumors in the boxing community peg Cotto for a likely date with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, but Cotto himself is a free agent. He has a relationship with Arum and Top Rank, but if he chooses, can work with Golden Boy and face Alvarez. Schaefer said he believes Canelo is the biggest money bout for Cotto and said Top Rank isn't a sinking ship, "it's already sunk."
"If he [Cotto] wants to make the most money he knows where to go. It's as simple as that," Schaefer said. "And Cotto is a young and smart guy so I know he's going to make the right decision for himself and his career."
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