By Miguel Rivera
Based on the recent information from Puerto Rico, the return of four division world champion Miguel Angel Cotto could very well get pushed back to a date in early July.
Cotto has already resumed his training camp in Los Angeles for a fight with Japan's Yoshihiro Kamegai. The fight was being targeted for June 24, possibly at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the date is now a little over a month away.
Cotto, 36, has waited a long time to return to the ring. His last fight was a twelve round decision loss to current World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez back in November of 2015.
The Puerto Rican star has a record of 40-5 and 33 KO's, and has been champion in the 140, 147, 154 and 160-pound divisions.
Cotto originally had planned a comeback this past February in Frisco, Texas, against James Kirkland, who suffered an injury two weeks before the event and withdrew.
The Japanese slugger has a record of 27-3-2 and 23KO's, and comes back from two battles in the junior middleweight division with Mexican brawler Jesus Soto Karass. Their first match in April of 2016 in Los Angeles concluded in a split decision draw, while in the second Kamegai overcame the great offense to Soto Karass to force the eighth-round stoppage by referee Jack Reiss.
The clash with Kamegai will be for Cotto the last of his lucrative contract with Roc Nation Sports. Kamegai is ranked 12th in the 154-pound World Boxing Organization (WBO) ranking, where Cotto is the top-ranked contender.
"Between Friday and Tuesday we can have an announcement because the date is approaching," Pérez told Carlos Gonzalez. "[The fight] could [get pushed back by] a week. It does not necessarily have to take place on June 24 as had been stated. We are working to bring Miguel back, which is what we want."
Cotto has been training hard since May 1, with coach Freddie Roach, as well as his physical trainer Gavin McMillan.
"Miguel is training. The Japanese fighter is the opponent. We do not have the television or the site (of the fight) finalized, but it is the Japanese fighter," Perez said.