By Miguel Rivera

WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32KOs) will not allow himself him to be pressured into a mandatory defense against Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29KOs), who owns the WBC's interim title at the weight and the WBA/IBO versions.

Golovkin returned last week in Monte Carlo, where he stopped the WBC's silver champion Martin Murray in the eleventh round of action.

The World Boxing Council is allowing Cotto to make a voluntary defense, but then they expect him to face Golovkin.

"No organization owns my career. So I will do my part and what I want to do," said Cotto in response to reporters who questioned him on the growing pressure from the WBC to face Golovkin.

Cotto expects to return in June. He says the upcoming opponent is undecided, although names like Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios have been mentioned.