By Miguel Rivera

A war of words has broken out between former world champions and future Hall of Famers, Juan Manuel 'Dinamita' Marquez of Mexico and Miguel Angel Cotto of Puerto Rico.

Cotto recently lashed out in Marquez direction, because he claims the Mexican veteran is dragging his feet when it comes to reaching an agreement on a potential catch-weight bout between the two of them.

Cotto says the two of them recent came together at a restaurant in Orlando, Florida where they discussed the possibility of a clash between the two of them before the end of 2017.

Cotto told Marquez that it's time to make a decision or keep his mouth shut.

"If (Marquez) wants to fight, it's time to decide, say something and get things done. If it's not what he wants, it's better to keep his mouth shut," Cotto said to Carlos Narvaez.

"Juan Manuel Marquez and I have spoken on several occasions. We met him in Orlando to talk about the fight. I spoke directly to him, without intermediaries. Juan Manuel knows what our plans are and heard them from my mouth at that restaurant in Orlando."

Marquez was advised of those comments and advised Cotto to pay attention to the first task at hand, a fight on August 26th against Yoshihiro Kamegai at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, with the vacant World Junior Boxing Organization (WBO) junior middleweight title at stake.

"I always keep in mind that one comes first and then comes two. In this case, (Cotto) has Kamegai. I am preparing for a return fight. First things first," Marquez said Golpe A Golpe. 

"So, I can't be talking about a fight with Cotto if I first have a fight that I'm preparing for. I always prepare, I like to be disciplined, responsible, I think I can get [a good win], and then we can talk about Miguel Cotto. I tell Cotto that we must first look at the first opponent. He has to beat Kamegai and I have my fight. We do not know what can happen, someone can even get hurt. He must first get through the commitment that he has and then we talk."

Marquez has not fought for 37 months. Cotto will be 21 months inactive in August when he is expected to face Kamegai.

Cotto, 36, has a record of 40-5 and 33 KOs. Márquez is 43 years old and has a record of 56-7-1 mark and 40 knockouts. The last time he climbed into a ring was in May 2014 when he defeated Mike Alvarado by unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight International crown.