At the moment, three-division champion Miguel Cotto is a hot of a commodity as he has ever been in the sport of boxing. Cotto?s career was thought to be in shambles following his November 2009 TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but he has bounced back impressively since that defeat with three consecutive knockouts over former champion Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga, and most recently Antonio Margarito, whom he defeated via 10th round TKO on December 3rd at Madison Square Garden in New York in a coveted rematch.
With his most recent contract with Top Rank having run out at the end of the year, Cotto is a promotional free agent and is eyeing all opportunities at the moment. In the past few days, Cotto has been linked to fights with Pacquiao as well as bout with undefeated superstars Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul Alvarez.
RingTV.com?s Lem Satterfield recently caught up with the Puerto Rican fighter?s advisor Gaby Penagaricano, who has been with Cotto for his past eighteen fights dating back to 2004. Penagaricano shed insight into Cotto?s next move without giving away too much information.
Here are a few sound bites from Satterfield?s Q &A…
Still on good terms with Top Rank? ?Obviously, we had a great year starting out. We had a wonderful run with Top Rank, our very good friends, with Bob and [Top Rank President] Todd [duBoef]. We had and still have an excellent relationship with Top Rank. Even though the contract is over, the relationship is still there.?
Waiting on a possible Pacquiao-Mayweather contest to see how things play out? ?We don’t know what’s going to happen yet, so it’s a little bit premature to say. I know things are moving quickly. But we will have to wait a little bit more to see finally what happens with Pacquiao and Mayweather. We don’t know that yet. I think that it’s premature to say until the time that we know what’s going to happen with those two. We don’t know what’s going to happen on our end until we see what happens there, so we’re going to have to wait a little bit more.?
The appeal of a fight with Mexican star Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez? ?I think that it would be attractive, of course. I think that it’s a very interesting fight. Cotto’s experience versus an up-and-coming youthful fighter. Very interesting with the Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry. Miguel has proven to be a pay per view attraction, and Canelo appears to be a very good attraction, if not yet proven pay per view-wise. But it’s there. Canelo is a huge attraction in Mexico, movie star-like. Even outside of boxing and into the mainstream, I think that fight is very attractive. Two good-looking guys going at it. Absolutely, that’s a great fight there.?
Cotto?s new dimensions heading into a possible rematch with Pacquiao? ?That one, I think, would be even more attractive in the United States, pay per view-wise. It’s a great rematch with the fact that Miguel Cotto has done very well in his past three fights, all by knockout against good opposition. Miguel has shown new talent and new strategies. The element of his new trainer, Pedro Diaz, adds to that and would make a huge difference from the first fight, and you saw that in the last fight against Margarito. I think that that brings a whole new dimension to the fight and the rematch. For sure, it would be a fight with fireworks. That’s another big fight, no question.?
Team Cotto?s relationship with Golden Boy Promotions? ?Very good relationship. Miguel’s promotional company, Miguel Cotto Promotions, has had a solid alliance with Golden Boy over the past couple of years in doing shows together as co-promoters in Puerto Rico. As part of the Solo Boxeo Tecate Television series on Univision. We’ve done in the past couple of years maybe 15 shows together. Frequently, they’ve showcased their Puerto Rican talent on our shows on the island. And we’ve dealt with them as well. We’ve dealt with all of their guys, from the matchmakers to the Richard Schaefer and everybody. We have a very good relationship.?
. To read the entire interview with Penagaricano, please check out Cotto’s advisor speaks on bouts with Mayweather, Pacquiao, and Alvarez
