Boxing’s lineal middleweight champion, Miguel Cotto, is looking for a big-name opponent in May or early June and fight legend Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40KO) has just resumed training after a lengthy layoff.
Coincidence? As ridiculous as it may seem, will we see Marquez, not far removed from boxing’s super lightweight division, fight the lineal middleweight champion of the world at a 155 pound catchweight?
Will Puerto Rico’s top star active star face Mexico’s most accomplished active fighter at Madison Square Garden on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Parade?
While it may seem absurd, their height and reach are the same. Moreover, Tim Bradley, another top welterweight, is being rumored as a possible opponent for Cotto so perhaps JJM, who fought Tim in 2013, is also being considered as a viable option for Cotto’s next fight.
Essentially, Cotto vs Marquez, like Cotto vs Bradley, would feature a natural super welterweight against a slighly puffed-up welterweight.
Knee
But before Juan Manuel Marquez and Co. make any announcements about next fight plans, they’ll have to assess the boxing legend’s bad knee. If it endures the rigor’s of training, it’s likely Marquez will fight once or twice more. If there are complications, however, the 41 year old three-division boxing champ insists he’ll be content to hang up the gloves.
During a December interview on ESPN Deportes, “El Dinamita” insisted:
“I wanted to have another fight in 2014, but I injured my knee while training for my fight with Mike Alvarado.” “Right now I need to take my time to see how my knee responds to training. I just need time.”
“Being a boxer is my job, and the ring is my place. But now I need to take my time. I do not want to retire, but if my body doesn’t allow me I will be forced into retirement.”
Wanted: High-Profile Welterweights and Super Welterweights
Fans, as well as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, would like for the WBO’s top contender to face its champion, Manny Pacquiao, for a fifth time.
And while JMM would love nothing more than to win a world title in a fourth weight division, he’s apparently hell-bent in his opposition to a fifth fight with PacMan, even though it would be his most lucrative option.
Enter Miguel Cotto.
Not only does the Puerto Rican own a world title, he is in possession of the coveted RING Magazine/lineal strap.
Long-shot or not, it would be a major coup for JMM to hop two divisions and win the real and legitimate middleweight title.
And if Marquez losses but isn’t lying outstretched on the canvas at fight’s end, he can always say he gave it his best but Cotto was simply too big.
In the event of a competitive loss, Marquez could always drop back down to welterweight and seek a title opportunity against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook or the organization’s super welterweight champion, K9 Bundrage.
Juan Manuel Marquez and Miguel Cotto, two boxing legends, are seemingly seeking high-profile, pay-per-view worthy opponents for their respective next fights and the pickens are pretty slim at the moment, especially if Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight each other in May.
“For me it [Cotto vs Marquez] would be a sensational fight, both are equipped with a high school in boxing technique,” Marquez’s Hall of Fame trainer, Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, touted in an interview with BoxingScene last summer.
“I’ve always viewed Cotto as one of the most technical fighters today, beyond what he’s done with Freddie Roach, and everyone knows that Marquez is a the best fighter from Mexico to take part in the art.”
“We would have to reach a good agreement [regarding the weight]. To fight at 150 pounds does not seem bad, or even a little less.”
Well Nacho, you may have to settle for 155 pounds or, perhaps, 154.1 if Miguel Cotto’s title is to be contested.
