Miguel Cotto, the probable future Hall of Famer and the only Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in four weight divisions, still plans to return to the ring in December, but it will not come against Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez, as has been heavily discussed in recent months.
Although the camps were closing in on a deal, they could not overcome the issue of what weight to fight at, and the match is dead, Miguel Cotto Promotions’ Bryan Perez, Cotto’s right-hand man, told ESPN.com on Monday.
“A fight with Juan Manuel Marquez is not happening, 100 percent for sure,” Perez said. “Maybe we can make it later on, but it will not be Miguel’s fight this year.
“Miguel wanted the fight, but it was all about getting a deal for the right weight. Financial-wise, there were no problems making a deal. Usually making a big fight, it’s financial when there are issues. That was not what happened with Marquez.”
Cotto, who has won world titles from junior welterweight to middleweight, has boxed between 152 and 155 pounds in his past nine fights since leaving the welterweight division in 2010. Perez said he was willing to drop down to meet Marquez at 150 pounds.
Marquez, who also has won world titles in four weight divisions but between featherweight and junior welterweight, was willing to fight as heavy as the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, Perez said. But they could not overcome the 3-pound spread.
Cotto has not fought as a welterweight since he was 145 pounds and lost his welterweight title by 12th-round knockout to Manny Pacquiao in November 2009.
Marquez has never been heavier than the 144½ pounds he weighed in a split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. in a 2013 welterweight world title bout.
So now Cotto is looking for another opponent for his next fight, which likely will take place in South Florida, possibly at Marlins Park, the home stadium of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.
“We are working on Miguel’s next fight with our [promotional] partners at Roc Nation Sports,” Perez said. “The Marquez fight was something Miguel wanted, but we couldn’t agree on the weight. They both wanted to fight each other. Miguel wanted 150, Juan Manuel Marquez wanted 147. Juan Manuel decided not to come up a couple of more pounds and we respect his decision about not coming up to 150. He’s a great fighter and a great champion. But 150 is where Miguel would feel comfortable going down to.”
Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs), 35, has not fought since losing a decision and the middleweight world title to Canelo Alvarez in their Nov. 21 pay-per-view showdown at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The 42-year-old Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) is 1-2-1 against Pacquiao but scored a massive sixth-round knockout in the victory in their fourth bout, a nontitle welterweight fight in 2012. But Marquez has not fought since winning a unanimous decision against Mike Alvarado in a May 2014 welterweight title eliminator at the Forum in Inglewood, California, mainly because of a knee injury.
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