Heiland Still in WBC Top Spot, Wants Golovkin or Cotto

By Ben Jacobs

One would have thought that after his knockout win over Matthew Macklin last year, Jorge Sebastian Heiland would have pushed on, if not to a world title fight then at least to another bout against a top contender. Instead the Argentine has been on the sidelines, patiently awaiting his chance after seeing potential opportunities against the big guns of the middleweight division fall at the final hurdle.

"Yes, it's been almost a year out of the ring but I'm always training, always ready to fight, even tomorrow if it were necessary," Heiland told BoxingScene.com.

"Obviously I'm proud to be number one in the WBC and I'm waiting for a world title chance.

"I've been training, for various reasons certain fights haven't gone ahead but we never stop training. My motivation is the most I've ever had, being number one in the WBC helps me."

Speculation at the time was that Jorge was on the verge of securing a challenge to Gennady Golovkin before Willie Monroe Jr was announced as the Kazaks's opponent.

"I was preparing to the maximum to fight Golovkin but the fight fell through," he explained.

"I would love to fight Golovkin or Cotto because they are the best at this weight class, so why wouldn't I fight them? It would be an honour.

"It can be a problem with the promoters but I'm always ready to fight. Sometimes promoters can't come to an agreement, that's what happened with Cotto as well. It's a shame really.

"As the number one challenger I may not be that well known but I will be known. We want to break into the American market and I want a chance to show what I have."

Heiland also reflected on his breakthrough win over Macklin in Ireland last November and looked back on the night with pride.

"Beating Macklin was huge, I don't know much about statistics but a journalist told me it had been a long time since an Argentine won over there. It got me the WBC International title and number one ranking. It helped me get a pass to a better fight, even though we're still waiting!"

Heiland finally returns to action on September 19 in his homeland against Claudio Ariel Abalos, a ten rounder he hopes to use as a way of fine tuning his skills before bigger nights ahead.

"After so long inactive this fight is a chance to get my rhythm back against an experienced guy. We are very prepared for this."

While he would like to fight the winner of November's super fight between Miguel Cotto and Saúl 'Canelo' Álvarez, the 28-year-old southpaw can't split the two men.

"It's a huge fight, one of the best of the year. I can’t say who is going to win, honestly. 'Canelo' is very strong and Cotto is a good boxer, as well as having punching power himself. May the best man win."