Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya confirmed that the proposed showdown between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Miguel Cotto will not happen on May 2 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
Frustrated by the long negotiation for the long-awaited fight, De La Hoya told ESPN that he has already talked to Gaby Peñagarícano, Cotto's legal adviser, informing them that they will look for other options after failing to finalize an agreement after several months of talks.
"The deal is off the table with Cotto," De La Hoya told ESPN. "They did not accept. So Canelo decided to move on. We had a deadline. We had our fifth deadline, and Canelo has decided, because Cotto and Gaby turned down the deal, he is obviously not going to be waiting for nobody."
Boxing fans have been calling for the showdown between Alvarez and Cotto for the latter's World Boxing Council middleweight title. Most boxing analysts believe that the fight is the second best possible fight that could be made this year - next to the highly anticipated super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
De La Hoya told BoxingScene that Alvarez has been pushing for the fight to give boxing fans the showdown that they have been asking for. Even if the talks for the Cotto fight went down, the Hall of Fame boxer said that Canelo will still fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 2.
"Canelo is obviously fighting on May 2nd, he's firm on that," De La Hoya said. "The fight he wanted is Cotto, because that's a fan friendly fight and he wants it for the fans. All of our terms are dealt with. We agreed to everything. Canelo bent over backwards to try to make this fight. There is a deadline and that deadline has passed."
De La Hoya did not specify why the two sides failed to reach an agreement, but Peñagarícano revealed that they did not agree to the proposed split on fight purse.
Cotto's adviser said that they have the right to demand for a higher purse, reiterating that Alvarez needs the fight more than Cotto does because the Puerto Rican champion has been through a lot of big bouts before.
"It's always the financial side. There was no agreement on that," Peñagarícano said. "I don't know what would have happened if we had more time. If Oscar doesn't have more time, he doesn't have more time. It's a great fight, but Miguel doesn't need it for his career."
