Fibroso
11-17-2014, 11:00 PM
Cotto-Canelo talks on track November, 13, 2014 Nov 13
2:30
PM ET
By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0930/box_g_alvarez_hoya1x_576x324.jpgDenis Poroy/Getty ImagesOscar De La Hoya doesn't expect ego to get in the way of making Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez.
The inevitable showdown between middleweight world champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titlist Canelo Alvarez looms as boxing's biggest fight in the non-Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao category. And unlike Mayweather-Pacquiao, it's a surefire pay-per-view hit that very likely will be made for May 2.
Dare I say, Cotto-Alvarez will go down as the biggest fight in the history of the legendary Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry that includes many famous fights, including Salvador Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez and the two Cotto-Antonio Margarito fights.
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya knows how big a fight it can be, is keen to make it and believes it will be finalized sooner rather than later. In fact, the camps have already had preliminary discussions on the fight as both sides want it, as does HBO PPV, which would televise it.
"That's the fight that's being talked about the most. Everywhere I go people are asking me about it left and right," De La Hoya told ESPN.com. "This is what's going to happen -- my next move is going to be to give [Top Rank promoter] Bob Arum [Cotto's promoter] a call and start discussing the fight with Bob."
Golden Boy has already had some talks with Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Cotto attorney Gaby Penagaricano.
"Nothing formal," De La Hoya said. "But since Bob is the guy at the helm [of Top Rank] I'm going to give Bob a call. This is the type of fight that can get made easier than most, certainly easier than Pacquiao-Mayweather. The reason I say that is because both guys want to fight."
There are, of course, some issues that need to be settled: the financial split, date and site, among others.
Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs), 24, who recently signed an exclusive contract with HBO, said a big part of the reason for leaving Showtime was because he wanted to fight major pay-per-view fights on the traditional Mexican holidays on which big fights are the norm -- Cinco de Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day weekend in September -- but was being blocked by Mayweather. Therefore, De La Hoya said, a Cotto-Alvarez fight would be on May 2 -- which is in line with HBO's preference.
"Second, do we go East Coast or West Coast," De La Hoya said, noting that Alvarez would prefer to fight on the West Coast, where most of his Mexican fans are, and Cotto would prefer to fight in New York, where he is a huge attraction because of the large Puerto Rican community.
"As far as where we go with the fight, whoever wants the fight the most, submit your bid," De La Hoya said.
When it comes to some of the more frivolous aspects of a negotiation -- name of the fight, who walks to the ring last and who is introduced last -- things sometimes get bogged down because of an ego battle. De La Hoya said there would be none of that in Cotto-Alvarez.
"Miguel Cotto is the champion and a great champion, and he is also a star, so he gets the champion status treatment, which means we're fighting for his belt. He walks second if he wants to, all that stuff. None of that will hold up this fight."
Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs), 34, won the middleweight title by scoring four knockdowns in a dominating 10th-round knockout of Sergio Martinez in June. With the win, Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in four weight classes and would be making his first defense against Alvarez.
"It's a matter of ironing out details, but in my opinion, nothing can put a stop to this fight, because the most important thing is that both guys want to fight each other," De La Hoya said. "Nobody is scared here."
Of course, there is still the issue of how to divide up all of the money the fight will generate.
"That will all be figured out," De La Hoya said. "Miguel Cotto is not going to let this fight fall through because they are not happy with the money, and Canelo is not calling off a fight because of the money. They will make the biggest purses of their careers fighting each other, even more than when they fought Floyd. This fight does a minimum of 1 million homes [on pay-per-view]. There is plenty of money to go around."
De La Hoya said he sees the fight as a simple 50-50 purse split. He believes Alvarez is the bigger draw but gives respect to the fact that Cotto is a star in his own right and also brings an immensely valuable commodity -- the title that Alvarez covets.
"Miguel Cotto fought Mayweather and did 1.5 million buys on pay-per-view. Canelo fought Floyd and did 2.2 million, 700,000 more than that," De La Hoya said. "Canelo has also done good numbers in his other pay-per-view fights. But you have to respect Cotto and consider he is the champion. I have no doubt this fight will get done.
"That's the beauty of ending the cold war [between Golden Boy and Top Rank]. We can make a huge fight like this together. And the fighters know that if they fight the big fights like this, the money is going to be there."
2:30
PM ET
By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0930/box_g_alvarez_hoya1x_576x324.jpgDenis Poroy/Getty ImagesOscar De La Hoya doesn't expect ego to get in the way of making Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez.
The inevitable showdown between middleweight world champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titlist Canelo Alvarez looms as boxing's biggest fight in the non-Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao category. And unlike Mayweather-Pacquiao, it's a surefire pay-per-view hit that very likely will be made for May 2.
Dare I say, Cotto-Alvarez will go down as the biggest fight in the history of the legendary Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry that includes many famous fights, including Salvador Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez and the two Cotto-Antonio Margarito fights.
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya knows how big a fight it can be, is keen to make it and believes it will be finalized sooner rather than later. In fact, the camps have already had preliminary discussions on the fight as both sides want it, as does HBO PPV, which would televise it.
"That's the fight that's being talked about the most. Everywhere I go people are asking me about it left and right," De La Hoya told ESPN.com. "This is what's going to happen -- my next move is going to be to give [Top Rank promoter] Bob Arum [Cotto's promoter] a call and start discussing the fight with Bob."
Golden Boy has already had some talks with Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Cotto attorney Gaby Penagaricano.
"Nothing formal," De La Hoya said. "But since Bob is the guy at the helm [of Top Rank] I'm going to give Bob a call. This is the type of fight that can get made easier than most, certainly easier than Pacquiao-Mayweather. The reason I say that is because both guys want to fight."
There are, of course, some issues that need to be settled: the financial split, date and site, among others.
Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs), 24, who recently signed an exclusive contract with HBO, said a big part of the reason for leaving Showtime was because he wanted to fight major pay-per-view fights on the traditional Mexican holidays on which big fights are the norm -- Cinco de Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day weekend in September -- but was being blocked by Mayweather. Therefore, De La Hoya said, a Cotto-Alvarez fight would be on May 2 -- which is in line with HBO's preference.
"Second, do we go East Coast or West Coast," De La Hoya said, noting that Alvarez would prefer to fight on the West Coast, where most of his Mexican fans are, and Cotto would prefer to fight in New York, where he is a huge attraction because of the large Puerto Rican community.
"As far as where we go with the fight, whoever wants the fight the most, submit your bid," De La Hoya said.
When it comes to some of the more frivolous aspects of a negotiation -- name of the fight, who walks to the ring last and who is introduced last -- things sometimes get bogged down because of an ego battle. De La Hoya said there would be none of that in Cotto-Alvarez.
"Miguel Cotto is the champion and a great champion, and he is also a star, so he gets the champion status treatment, which means we're fighting for his belt. He walks second if he wants to, all that stuff. None of that will hold up this fight."
Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs), 34, won the middleweight title by scoring four knockdowns in a dominating 10th-round knockout of Sergio Martinez in June. With the win, Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in four weight classes and would be making his first defense against Alvarez.
"It's a matter of ironing out details, but in my opinion, nothing can put a stop to this fight, because the most important thing is that both guys want to fight each other," De La Hoya said. "Nobody is scared here."
Of course, there is still the issue of how to divide up all of the money the fight will generate.
"That will all be figured out," De La Hoya said. "Miguel Cotto is not going to let this fight fall through because they are not happy with the money, and Canelo is not calling off a fight because of the money. They will make the biggest purses of their careers fighting each other, even more than when they fought Floyd. This fight does a minimum of 1 million homes [on pay-per-view]. There is plenty of money to go around."
De La Hoya said he sees the fight as a simple 50-50 purse split. He believes Alvarez is the bigger draw but gives respect to the fact that Cotto is a star in his own right and also brings an immensely valuable commodity -- the title that Alvarez covets.
"Miguel Cotto fought Mayweather and did 1.5 million buys on pay-per-view. Canelo fought Floyd and did 2.2 million, 700,000 more than that," De La Hoya said. "Canelo has also done good numbers in his other pay-per-view fights. But you have to respect Cotto and consider he is the champion. I have no doubt this fight will get done.
"That's the beauty of ending the cold war [between Golden Boy and Top Rank]. We can make a huge fight like this together. And the fighters know that if they fight the big fights like this, the money is going to be there."