By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Miguel Cotto didn’t fight once in 2016.
The four-division champion wants to make up for that inactivity this year. The Puerto Rican icon said Wednesday during a question-and-answer session in Manhattan that he wants his February 25 fight against James Kirkland to be the first of “two, three” fights in 2017, but wouldn’t speculate on potential opponents if he defeats Kirkland in their HBO Pay-Per-View main event in Frisco, Texas.
“2017 is going to be my last year in boxing,” Cotto said. “We’ll see what happens next.”
The 36-year-old Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) didn’t fight in 2016 because he said the right opportunity didn’t present itself. He was not, however, contemplating retirement after losing a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) in their November 2015 fight in Las Vegas.
“Never was that on my mind,” Cotto said. “I knew that I wanted to come back, and this is the right time to do it.”
The future Hall-of-Famer is just as certain that he won’t fight after this year. When asked if he watched 51-year-old Bernard Hopkins get knocked out by Joe Smith Jr. last month, Cotto made it clear he won’t be an active 40-year-old boxer, forget fighting when he’s 50.
“I didn’t saw it, but I’m not going to be here until my 51st birthday,” Cotto said. “That’s too much for me. I am concerned of better things. Being a father 100 percent is the most important thing in my life. And being a grandfather is going to be great for me. I’m a family man first, then a boxer. I want to be with my family. I know I had a great career, great fights and it’s time to do something else.”
While admittedly eyeing retirement, Cotto doesn’t think potential consumers of tickets or pay-per-view are concerned about him giving half-hearted effort against Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) or other opponents later this year.
“People already know what they can expect from Miguel Cotto,” Cotto said. “They are going to have the same effort for 2017.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
