Miguel Cotto will defend his World Boxing Council middleweight title against Daniel Geale on June 6 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the Puerto Rican champion is already being linked to possible big fights later this year.
Cotto, who holds a career record of 39 wins against just four defeats with 32 knockout victories, is continuously being linked to a showdown against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.
ESPN reported that the fight between Cotto and Alvarez is a done deal after HBO allegedly required Cotto to agree to a showdown with Canelo in exchange for broadcasting the WBC middleweight champion's fight against Geale.
But for the fight to happen, Cotto has to get past Geale, while Alvarez also needs to win against James Kirkland in their scheduled showdown on May 9 at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
When asked about the rumored deal to face Alvarez for his title later this year, Cotto played it down and reiterated that he is focused on his title defense against Geale in June.
"We are focused on Geale for June and then after that we can talk about anybody else," said Cotto, who has not fought since winning the WBC middleweight title with a 10th round knockout win over Sergio Martinez in June last year. "We had some conversations about fighting Canelo but we are really focused on Daniel Geale."
Cotto and Alvarez were linked to a fight earlier this year and the camps of the two fighters were in deep negotiations for the super fight. However, talks for the showdown did not come to fruition as Cotto did not decide before the deadline set by Canelo's camp.
Cotto told BoxingScene that Alvarez has to wait for his shot for the WBC middleweight like the way he did earlier in his career. The 34-year-old champion also pointed out that he is open to facing unbeaten International Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
But like Alvarez, Cotto said that Golovkin, who is set to defend his middleweight titles against Willie Monroe on May 16 at the Forum in California, should wait for his turn.
"My whole career, I've faced the best," Cotto said. "He is one of the best boxers in the world. He's one of the best names on the table. But I had to wait sometimes in my career for my opportunities. Canelo has to do the same. Golovkin has to do the same. Just sit, be calm and wait your turn. I don't like to push things."
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