Miguel Cotto has yet to decide on who to face in his next fight, but reports revealed that the camp of the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion is eyeing Erislandy Lara and might be forced to face Gennady Golovkin.
Cotto, who captured the WBC middleweight title with a 10th-round knockout win against Sergio Martinez in June last year, is not expected to name an opponent soon as he is waiting if the super showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will happen this year.
Cotto is reportedly eyeing a rematch with Mayweather. But if the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happens in May, the Puerto Rican already has possible opponents in mind, including Lara as reported by ESPN Deportes.
Luis De Cubas, Lara's manager, said that they are also considering several opponents, but confirmed that their camp, along with influential adviser Al Haymon, wants to face Cotto for the middleweight title.
"It's what we're working right now with Al Haymon," De Cubas said via Tha Boxing Voice. "We want to finalize a fight with Cotto. It is one of the best fights in the world and we know that would be a great war."
Lara, who holds a 20-2-2 record with 12 knockouts, scored a unanimous decision win against Ishe Smith in December, which came after absorbing a split decision defeat to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in July.
Aside from Lara, unbeaten middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is continuously being linked to Cotto.
Golovkin, the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization middleweight champion, told Doghouse Boxing that he will make a push to get a title unification bout against Cotto if he wins against Martin Murray in their upcoming fight on Feb. 21 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions also confirmed to Tha Boxing Voice that they are expecting a showdown between Cotto and Golovkin later this year.
The K2 promoter said Cotto will have no choice but to face Golovkin if they both win in their next fights because the 32-year-old Kazakh was named by WBC as the mandatory challenger for Cotto's middleweight title.
Loeffler believes that fight fans are also eager to see a showdown between Cotto and Golovkin, saying that the two fighters are among the best and most exciting boxers in the world today.
"Gennady just won the WBC interim title and so now he is the mandatory for Miguel Cotto," Loeffler said. "Miguel's a proven champion in the ring he's a proven warrior, he always rises to the big challenges."
