Why Miguel Cotto may postpone retirement until 2018

Before Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought on Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Miguel Cotto doubled down on earlier statements that he wanted to face the winner in his “farewell fight” on Dec. 2.

“It’s the best way to say goodbye to boxing. No matter what happens or who I fight in the next fight, I am here to do the best I can.”

Of course, the Canelo-GGG fight ended in a controversial draw, and an immediate rematch was ordered by the WBC, though, negotiations were already well underway.

There was also talk of Cotto potentially facing former middleweight world champion David Lemieux, but as aforementioned in a FightNights.com column, it just didn’t seem feasible.

ESPN reported on Saturday afternoon that Cotto (41-5, 33 KO’s), the current WBO junior middleweight world champion, and Sadam Ali (25-1, 14 KO’s), a welterweight contender, agreed to terms to fight on Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In roughly three weeks, we went from Cotto potentially facing two of the biggest names in boxing, to Sadam Ali, and we’re supposed to believe this is it?

Cotto signed a multi-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions in late May and looked incredible in his 12-round bout against Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai (27-4-2, 24 KO’s) despite a 21-month layoff.

Money talks and Golden Boy knows how to make money. If Oscar De La Hoya is thinking about trying to get Cotto to fight after Dec. 2, a Lemieux bout would be a very dangerous investment.

Cotto is not a middleweight, while Lemieux is a big 160-pounder with formidable punching power. In March, the 28-year-old Canadian put former middleweight world title contender Curtis Stevens to sleep with a lethal left hook.

Cotto won’t have to worry about that against Ali, although his 73-inch reach is exceptional when you consider that Golovkin only has a 70-inch wingspan. The Puerto Rican will have to apply the pressure, and when he does that, the KO will be in sight.

Look for Cotto to fight the winner of Canelo-Golovkin II in November 2018 as a final sendoff.