Canelo Alvarez's team is reportedly discussing terms for a May fight with WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto already, and Cotto's title is expected to be on the line.
"There are preliminary talks with the Cotto camp and obviously with Golden Boy on behalf of Canelo. So the fact is that Cotto wants the fight and the fact is that Canelo wants the fight," Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said. "We have to iron out details, but I'm very confident that this fight is going to be made because both fighters understand that the fans are demanding for this one to happen."
Alvarez is hoping to stage the fight on May 2, the weekend of Cinco De Mayo, but he could run into opposition for that date. Floyd Mayweather Jr. typically fights on the weekends of Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence Day; De La Hoya addressed the possibility of a conflict but was vague on how he'd handle it.
"Look, May 2 is obviously the target date for Cotto and Canelo. Now, if a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is going to happen, and they're going to say, 'We'd better go on May 2, because Canelo is going to take that date,' then, you know what? Our plan worked. We helped to make that fight. So it's interesting what it can do toward a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight," De La Hoya said.
"These types of events that we want to put on is going to put some pressure on Pacquiao and Mayweather and make them think, 'Hey, we're falling behind, we'd better get this fight done.' So the strategy of putting the fights first and the strategy of putting the fans first, and the strategy of Golden Boy wanting to work with every promoter and wanting to make the best fights, that strategy could help make Mayweather-Pacquiao, because of the pressure that they're going to feel."
As for Cotto's title? That will be up for grabs if the fight gets made, unlike when Alvarez fought Erislandy Lara and chose not to fight for his interim WBA junior middleweight strap.
"It will be for Cotto's title, absolutely. This is the biggest fight that can be made and that people are talking about for next year, which is Cinco de Mayo. I have no doubt in my mind that this fight does closer to 1.5 million homes," De La Hoya said.
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