David Lemieux to return December 2, with or without Cotto

Middleweight contender David Lemieux (38-3, 33 KO) will be back in action on December 2 on HBO, and that counts for whether or not he winds up facing current junior middleweight titleholder Miguel Cotto in the main event.

Cotto (41-5, 33 KO) ended a nearly two-year layoff on August 26, beating Yoshihiro Kamegai for the vacant WBO 154-pound title, and has stated that he will fight again on December 2, in what he plans to be the final fight of his career.

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican superstar wants to face either Canelo Alvarez, who beat Cotto in 2015, or Gennady Golovkin, but those fighters’ representatives are in negotiations for a rematch next May after their September 16 draw. A fight with Cotto is realistically a backup plan, a lesser fight even if still quite a big deal should it come to pass.

Lemieux, 28, has fought two times this year, knocking out Curtis Stevens on March 11 and winning a wide decision over Marcos Reyes on May 6. He was an early rumored opponent for Cotto’s December fight, and would be as good a non-Canelo/GGG opponent as is potentially available.

But if he doesn’t face Cotto, ESPN reports that he will still be on that card, in the televised co-feature.