Miguel Cotto can no longer be referred to as the WBC middleweight champion. The WBC stripped him of the title after he refused to pay their $300,000 sanctioning fee. The news does little to diminish his Nov. 21 clash with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Saturday, but it could irreparably harm the career of fellow middleweight Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Cotto has been accused of ducking Golovkin since last year, and this decision to essentially drop his coveted belt is the most solid evidence of all. Golovkin, who was paid $800,000 to step aside and let Cotto-Alvarez happen, is the mandatory challenger for the WBC title. He has called out Cotto repeatedly, and gotten the cold shoulder. The WBC stipulated that the winner of Cotto-Alvarez must defend the title vs. Golovkin in their next bout, but that’s now unenforceable if Cotto wins.
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Alvarez is a favorite, but not a heavy one, and Cotto brings experience, skill and power to the ring. Alvarez has not seen any fighter who combines those traits as well as Cotto does, and is not a lock to win. Golovkin, who will surely watch the fight eagerly, now needs to cross his fingers that Alvarez’s power carries the day. Otherwise, his dreams of being boxing’s top draw are dashed.
Golovkin’s stated goal is to unify the middleweight division, and if Cotto beats Alvarez, that may be even easier to achieve. Alvarez can claim the belt with a win, but Cotto can not. If Cotto wins the title remains vacant, and Golovkin will fight someone else for it. That doesn’t do as much for his career as a win over Cotto or Alvarez does.
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Cotto clearly does not want to risk facing Golovkin, and now with no title, there’s nothing to shove him into the ring unwillingly. If Alvarez loses to Cotto, he won’t be seen as a credible threat to Golovkin anymore. If he can’t fight either, there’s no big name opponent in sight that makes any sense. Super middleweight Andre Ward has vacated his own 168-pound belt and is eyeing a showdown with Sergey Kovalev at light heavyweight. British star Carl Froch, a super middleweight, has retired from the ring. The remaining middleweights include the likes of Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, Daniel Jacobs and Andy Lee; all are strong fighters, but none have crossover appeal.
Golovkin may be doomed to toil in relative anonymity because of a lack of quality opponents and their unwillingness to fight him. The jury is out on Alvarez, who has taken on many difficult challenges, as to whether or not he would brave Golovkin’s storm. Cotto, on the other hand, is no longer that take-on-all-comers warrior. He’s seen the money, and he’s chasing it Floyd Mayweather Jr. style.
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