By Miguel Rivera
Nacho Beristain, trainer of former four division beltholder Juan Manuel 'Dinamita' Marquez, is pleased that his fighter refused to cave in by accepting the weight limit being presented by Miguel Angel Cotto for a fall fight.
On Wednesday, the vice president of business operations for Miguel Cotto Promotions, Bryan Perez, confirmed that Marquez was no longer an option because of a disagreement over weight.
Marquez, with a record of 56-7-1, 40KO's and 42-years-old, was refusing to fight Cotto at anything more than 147-pounds. Cotto wanted 150-pounds, but some source stated that he was willing to go down to 149 - which Marquez rejected.
Cotto (40-5, 33KOs) is going to fight at 154 pounds and reportedly will have a guaranteed minimum purse of $15 million.
"The fight [we wanted] was with Marquez, but he made some public statements regarding the terms for the weight. That was the fight Miguel wanted, but it is not going to happen. The position of Marquez was clear and we respect it. There was too much posturing and this time [the discussions] failed. Hopefully it can happen later on," Perez told ESPN Deportes.
Cotto has been out of the ring since losing a twelve round decision to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez last November at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Two of the dates being kicked around for Cotto's return include October 8th and October 15th.
Marquez has been out of the ring even longer. He's been out of the ring since May of 2014, when he won a twelve round decision over Mike Alvarado.
"I don't think he will fight. He hasn't trained for most of the year. Perhaps he will make a farewell fight. We have not talked, but I'm happy because he rejected the weight that Miguel Cotto was demanding. Juan Manuel has never even weighed 147 pounds and he doesn't need to," Beristain said.
"I hope that if he' going to make another fight to say goodbye, that he does it in the United States because here (in Mexico) he won't get paid what he should be getting. There are many interesting opponents and he would have to think about it, but I think he deserves a farewell fight."
