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Former Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is eyeing a December return and is targeting former 140-pound champion Lamont Peterson as opponent:
Word on the curb is that Miguel Cotto vs Lamont Peterson is in play for December. #boxing
— Raging Babe (@RagingBabe) September 7, 2016
Fighting Smaller Foes
Known as boxing’s catch weight king for his knack of fighting smaller foes at a catch weight, Miguel Cotto hasn’t fought since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in their titanic match-up last November 2015. Since January of this year, Cotto has been linked to a bout with Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez but that fight never materialized as the Marquez camp didn’t want to fight beyond 147 and the Cotto corner asking for it to be at 155.
After that, Cotto was criticized for attempting to lure former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa to a December bout. Gamboa fought highest at 135 pounds and was dismantled by current welterweight champion Terence Crawford in his first and only attempt at a world lightweight title. Now Cotto is eyeing to fight another naturally smaller opponent in Lamont Peterson.
No Bigger Than A Welterweight
Although Peterson was a former world champion at light welterweight, he has fought at welterweight twice. One of those bouts was his controversial majority decision loss to Danny Garcia last year and that bout was even fought at a catchweight of 143 pounds. Prior to his loss to Garcia, Peterson’s only career defeats came at the hands of Lucas Matthysse and Timothy Bradley. The 32-year old Washington DC native is known for his victories over Kendall Holt, Dierry Jean, Edgar Santana and Amir Khan.
Havoc is listed as two inches taller than Cotto but is no bigger than a welterweight. He’s fought majority of his career at 140 and has fought no higher than 144 pounds. For this reported bout to be done, it will likely be fought at a weight no higher than 150 pounds. Cotto’s management team is expected to make an official announcement next week. The fight is being linked to New York which has a large Puerto Rican population and when Cotto has a proven fan base.
No Effect in Rankings
Whether Cotto’s next fight is against Peterson or someone else, it’s going to have no effect in the rankings nor will it have any championship implications. It does appear that Cotto is trying to remain relevant in a sport where new big time players have emerged. Cotto is already 35 years old and has 45 bouts tucked under his belt. It’s unlikely Cotto is targetting another run at the middleweight title given how he lost to Canelo in a middleweight bout fought at 155. Knowing Cotto, he’ll continue to take catch weight but big money fights to prolong his career.
