Middleweight champions Miguel Cotto and Gennady Golovkin are continuously being linked to a title unification bout this year, and K2 Promotions promoter Tom Loeffler insisted the fight should happen.
Golovkin is set to defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight titles against Martin Murray on February 21 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Loeffler said Golovkin and his camp are focused on their upcoming title defense against Murray, but they are already eyeing a unification bout against Cotto, the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion.
"A fight like that would be tremendous, Cotto and Golovkin in Madison Square Garden - that would be a huge fight," Loeffler told BoxingScene. "As you alluded to, nobody on our team is overlooking Martin Murray. Abel Sanchez, who is Gennady's trainer and Gennady are 100% focused on Martin Murray."
Cotto, who defeated former middleweight champion Sergio Gabriel Martinez in June last year to capture the WBC title, was previously linked to a showdown with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
However, the negotiation for the Cotto-Canelo fight did not come to fruition as Alvarez's camp decided to pull out of the talks and settle for a fight against James Kirkland, which will likely be scheduled on May 2 if the showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be scheduled on that day.
After his first title defense in his next fight, Cotto will have no other choice but to face Golovkin if the Kazakh successfully keeps his title after the Murray bout, or run risk of being stripped off his WBC title, Loeffler revealed.
"Miguel would have one more fight. It's unfortunate that they couldn't make the fight with Canelo. I thought that would have been a great fight," Loeffler said. "Regardless of who Cotto fights in May, then Gennady would be the mandatory for him and that would be a tremendous matchup."
Gaby Peñagarícano, Cotto's legal adviser, said in an interview on Thursday that they are finalizing the Puerto Rican's next fight. The 34-year-old, who holds a 39-4 record with 32 knockout victories, is reportedly considering several options, and could name Cotto's next opponent next week, barring any major setback.
"We are a concentrated on fighting before the summer," Peñagarícano told El Vocero via BoxingScene. "We are working on several potential opponents and we don't want to reveal their names because we are in negotiations. I think that by next week the matter might mature to the point where we'll be able to make an announcement.
