By Jake Donovan

For most on hand at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the day was about Miguel Cotto and Daniel Geale formally announcing their June 6 clash. A press conference was held on the grounds Thursday afternoon to present the upcoming middleweight title fight, which will be fought at a maximum catchweight of 157 lbs.

The bout will mark Cotto’s first defense of his World middleweight crown, which he won in an upset and surprisingly one-sided 10th round knockout of Sergio Martinez.

The historic feat—Cotto became the first ever fighter from Puerto Rico to capture titles in four weight divisions with the win—took place last June. In fact exactly 52 weeks from fight night once he steps into the ring to face Geale, a former middleweight titlist who rebounded from a crushing knockout loss to unbeaten middleweight knockout artist Gennady Golovkin with a 12-round win over countryman Jarrod Fletcher last December.

The first few questions directed at the fighters were about the fight itself. However, it didn’t take long for some to start wondering about the fights that were left on the table.

Naturally, discussion then turned to one potential clash that was supposed to come in May. Cotto was in talks to face Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in a bout that most were banking on serving as the showcase event of the spring season while another certain superfight remained nothing more than five years in discussion at the time.

Alvarez was reportedly on board for all terms, but in the end it was Cotto who walked—not just away from the fight, but also from a fight-to-fight handshake agreement with Top Rank. The Puerto Rican superstar resurfaced with Roc Nation Sports and announced that his career was moving in a different direction.

That eventually led to the June 6 headliner at Barclays, with HBO to televise. The network was on board, but only on one condition: that Cotto and Alvarez meet next, provided they both win their upcoming fights (Alvarez faces James Kirkland in Houston on May 9).

Just how much Cotto conceded to those plans is a conversation only his team, Alvarez’ team and the fine folks at HBO can confirm. For now, he didn’t feel the need to validate such rumors, or speak to why he’s facing a former titlist on the rebound in Geale rather than having accepted a major fight when it was presented.

“My whole career, I’ve faced the best,” Cotto reminded the assembled media when pressed about Alvarez. “He is one of the best boxers in the world. He’s one of the best names on the table. But I had to wait sometimes in my career for my opportunities. Canelo has to do the same. Golovkin has to do the same.

“Just sit, be calm and wait your turn. I don’t like to push things. Everything comes.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox