By Miguel Rivera
The ring return of former four division world champion Miguel Cotto is being worked on, according to Bryan Perez of Miguel Cotto Promotions.
Cotto was scheduled to face James Kirkland on February 25th in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View card from Texas. Last week, the fight fell out after Kirkland withdrew with a fractured nose that was suffered in training camp.
Cotto's promoter, Roc Nation Sports, is working around the clock to set a new date - as Cotto had indicated that 2017 will be his final year in the sport, and he wants to fight at least two times before walking away from boxing.
Cotto has been training for five weeks in Los Angeles with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym.
After the fight with Kirkland was canceled, Cotto went back to Puerto Rico. Roc Nation is expected to give Cotto a new date very shortly.
"We were informed that they are looking for different alternatives, and they will present us with a plan. We hope to hear from them this week. Soon we will have a date," Perez told Carlos Gonzalez.
The goal, says Perez, is still to have two fights in 2017. Because Cotto's next fight is on pay-per-view - HBO must find the right date and time period to accommodate such an event and avoid making it too close to another pay-per-view card.
"The plan is to fight before the summer and then again by the end of the year. It is the same plan since the beginning. With that in mind, Roc Nation now [knows what to do]. There are already [pay-per-view] commitments with several dates, but HBO is working on the best alternatives to have Miguel back," Perez said.
"Having two pay-per-view events that are only a few weeks apart is not practical. And obviously, the fight with Canelo [and Chavez Jr.] is huge and we don't want to compete with that. But in April or June are the dates that seem to be viable and we are insisting on those dates with Roc Nation.
As far as the opponent, Cotto is willing to fight anyone who makes the most financial sense.
"We would work with anyone who represents the best options with respect to the economic terms for Miguel. It does not matter if he's with Top Rank or a Haymon fighter - we're available," Perez shared.
