Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez are ready for war Saturday night in Las Vegas, and as exciting as that matchup is, the prospect of the winner possibly facing middleweight destroyer Gennady “GGG” Golovkin next is equally tantalizing. Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach wants to whet fans’ appetites for a different matchup if he gets by Alvarez, though.

“I would love for [Cotto] to win this fight by knockout, call out [Floyd] Mayweather and then end it,” Roach said. “He always tells me ‘If I had you in my corner when I fought him I would have knocked him out.’ He tells me that story all the time.”

Gennady Golovkin Is Praying Canelo Takes Down Cotto

Cotto fought Mayweather in 2012, and unlike most of Mayweather’s opponents, actually landed significant leather on him in a tough bout. He bloodied Mayweather’s nose, and fought better than the three scorecards indicated. Cotto also fought Mayweather at a strange point in his career, when he had made adjustments stylistically that proved to hinder his career.

Since linking up with Roach, Cotto, 35, has knocked out his last three opponents. He slaughtered Delvin Rodriguez in a tune-up bout before challenging then-WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. He knocked Martinez down four times after entering the ring a big underdog, but later drew criticism for fighting a broken-down Martinez at a 159-pound catch weight. Cotto took similar heat for fighting ex-champ Daniel Geale at 157 pounds, but the common denominator in all three fights was the return of his left hook to the body, and his resurgent power punching.

Cotto believes Roach would have had the right game plan for him to beat Mayweather, and now that Mayweather has slowed noticeably, it’s possible Cotto would have to goods to take him down. Mayweather’s final fight vs. Andre Berto was a box office dud, leading some to believe the public has lost interest in his one-sided fights.

Cotto could be the perfect dance partner for Mayweather, however, if he puts on a thrilling show vs. Alvarez. If Cotto was competitive three years ago, with a bad game plan, just imagine what he could do with a Hall of Fame trainer.

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