Miguel Cotto is in demand after a sensational and quick thrashing of Delvin Rodriguez in October, with stars such as Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez trying hard to land dates with him.
Early in the proceedings, it looked as if Martinez was the frontrunner for several reasons. He fights on HBO, with whom Cotto has often worked closely with. He is also the middleweight champion, and a victory over him would grant Cotto a title in his fourth weight class, making him the first Puerto Rican fighter to accomplish such a feat.
"To be the first Puerto Rican to win titles in four weight divisions would be very tempting to me," Cotto said. "I have to talk to my team, but going for a middleweight championship would be [a goal]."
Martinez also seemed intent on making a battle with Cotto happen. "Team Martinez is focused on this fight. He would love to fight Cotto, it's good for the fans and for boxing," Martinez's adviser Sampson Lewkowicz said.
Still, Golden Boy has offered in excess of $10 million to Cotto to face Alvarez, and Cotto's free to fight whomever he pleases. It appears Martinez has lined up a backup plan if Cotto bails on the fight, but whether or not fans will be pleased with the choice is another story. Marco Antonio Rubio has been made an offer by Team Martinez.
"We've already made Rubio a firm proposal to go to Argentina. Unfortunately, the broadcasters who make the fights in the United States, HBO, is not interested (in the fight)," Lewkowicz said. "For that reason the fight has to be in South America. Sergio promised (WBC president Jose) Sulaiman that he would do his mandatory fight. In Argentina they love the idea of (Martinez facing) a Mexican, so it's all geared for that fight. Hopefully in 30 days we can specify the date. In 24 hours we can have a sell out."
Lewkowicz then applied pressure on Cotto to make a decision. "Cotto must make a decision. If he wants to make history on the 7th of June in a stadium with 50,000 people, then perfect, but if not - we'll put 50,000 people in Buenos Aires against Rubio."
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