By Jake Donovan
From the moment whispers began of a clash between Miguel Cotto and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez having been finalized, attention immediately shifted to the potential fighters who would comprise of the supporting cast.
Well before Cotto-Alvarez was finalized, among the leading candidates to grace the undercard were undefeated World super middleweight champion Andre Ward. The placement makes sense, as Cotto and Ward are the two biggest free agent signings made by Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports earlier this year.
While the superfight itself is a done deal for November 21 at the Mandalay Bay, the rest of the card is still under discussion. Roc Nation and Golden Boy Promotions (Alvarez' longtime promoter) will likely divide up the available spots, but none have yet been filled according to event handlers.
"It's something that we are discussing but we are not—we have not focused quite frankly on the undercard," confirmed Michael Yorkman, President & Chief of Branding and Strategy for Roc Nation Sports, when asked of the status of Ward serving in the chief support. "That's something that now after today's announcement, Oscar (de la Hoya, Golden Boy founder) and his team, David (Itskowitz, Roc Nation COO) and his team will discuss further. But (Ward appearing on the show) is a consideration."
Cotto and Ward made their respective Roc Nation debuts two weeks apart in June. Cotto scored a one-sided 4th round knockout of Daniel Geale in the first defense of his World middleweight championship, to help set up the mouthwatering showdown with Alvarez.
Ward fought two weeks later in his Oakland (Cal.) hometown, scoring a 9th round stoppage of England's Paul Smith in a non-title fight. The bout was Ward's first since Nov. '13, and just his third fight overall since obtaining the World lineal super middleweight championship in a Dec. '11 points win over Carl Froch.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com . Twitter: @JakeNDaBox