The upcoming bout between Cotto and Canelo has the potential to be a fight to remember, rather than a fight to forget?
While waiting for boxing to die, with the requisite prayers that it will live forever, we have good news to report from the ICU, aka the House of Doom and Gloom.
On Saturday, November 21, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), from Cauguas, Puerto Rico, defends his title against former WBC and WBC welterweight champion Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), the red-haired wunderkind from Juanacatl?n, Jalisco, Mexico.
Rivalries between Puerto Rico and Mexico are nothing new. The list of memorable fights by memorable fighters is as august as it is long. Think Cocoa Kid vs. Kid Azteca, Salvador Sanchez vs. Bazooka Limon, Wilfredo Benitez vs. Carlos Palomino, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Juan Laporte, Pipino Cuevas vs. Angel Espada, Juan Zurita vs. Sixto Escobar, Giovani Segura vs. Ivan Calderon, and Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad.
The upcoming fight between Cotto and Canelo, two crowd-pleasing, high-intensity, all-action fighters with seven world titles between them, has the potential to be a fight to remember, rather than a fight to forget.
?I am here to fight the best names and the best fighters,? said Cotto. ?I will give the fans the fight they want to see. This will be another chapter in my career and I will be ready for him. Fans will enjoy a real fight, another classic battle in the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry.?
Canelo is no less enthusiastic, but a little more talkative.
?Historically, mega-fights are made because fans demand them,? he said. ?In this case, the fans have spoken out, longing for this fight, and it is my pleasure to say that it is finally happening. All fights at this level are very important, but this fight in particular has something more. It will hold a special place in history as part of the big rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, and I promise all the fans that this is going to be an event that will not disappoint.?
