By Keith Idec
Freddie Roach doesn’t know who Miguel Cotto will fight next.
Cotto’s trainer just hopes that Cotto finds an opponent soon enough so that he still can fight twice before retiring at the end of this year. Regardless, the Puerto Rican icon repeatedly has said that 2017 will be his last year as an active boxer.
The four-division champion has had numerous grueling fights during a pro career that began 16 years ago and says he wants to spend more time with his family. The 36-year-old Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) has one fight left on the three-fight promotional contract he signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports in March 2015.
Roach told BoxingScene.com following an open workout at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood on Tuesday that Cotto is close to securing an opponent for his next fight.
“Well, he’s negotiating with Roc Nation and we’re trying to get a fight,” Roach said. “We’re getting closer to an opponent, they tell me. But nothing definite yet. But this is Cotto’s last year. He’s gonna retire after this year, and I hope to get a couple in before he goes.”
Cotto’s first fight since losing to Canelo Alvarez in November 2015 was supposed to come against James Kirkland on February 25 at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco, Texas. That HBO Pay-Per-View main event was canceled on February 2, however, because Kirkland’s handlers told Cotto’s representatives that Kirkland suffered a broken nose during a sparring session.
Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs), of Austin, Texas, is not believed to be one of the opponents under consideration for Cotto’s return to the ring.
The open workout Tuesday at Roach’s gym took place to promote an April 9 card at The Novo at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles (FS1; Fox Deportes). Roach trains 2016 Lithuanian Olympian Eimantas Stanionis, a welterweight prospect who will make his pro debut on the April 9 card.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
