Not Looking Past Murray, But Team Golovkin Craves Cotto in NY

People are still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

A big damn shoe, too. Until #MoneyVsManny is a done deal, or pronounced DOA once again, big name matches and hitters stand on the sideline, twiddle their thumbs and hurry up and wait.

One of those waiters is Miguel Cotto (age 34; 39-4). He’s been out of the ring for real since last June, when he thoroughly manhandled a somewhat diminished Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden, sending the Argentine pugilist/specialist to a place to ponder whether he can or should be a prizefighter anymore.

Cotto took Martinez’ WBC middleweight belt on that summer night, and there are other folks who’d like a crack at snatching it from him. For instance, GennadyGolovkin (age 32, just two years younger than Cotto; 31-0).

The Kazakh wrecking ball, the baby-faced banger who is wired to deliver concussions, would dearly love to lure Cotto into the ring and enter into by far the most meaningful scrap of his eight year professional career.

Yes, yes, I know he has a booking, on Feb. 21, against the quite competent MartinMurray, who has given Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez the business (draw, loss) in accruing a 29-1-1 record to this juncture. That clash takes place in Monte Carlo, and will be shown on HBO.

Only a fool looks past a seasoned and strong pugilist like the Brit Murray, and I have not found anyone on Team Golovkin to be that. The WBA and IBO and interim WBC champ Gennady, he just wants to test himself against the best. Same with trainer Abel Sanchez; he thinks the world of his human wrecking ball and wants to show the planet what he knows in his heart. Same for promoter Tom Loeffler. The low-key and gentlemanly dealmaker didn’t really want to get into what might be on Golovkins’ To Do list after Feb. 21. But he’d be deficient in duty if he didn’t have at least a shell of a longer term plan in place for the 33-in-April-year-old, who really should be elevating himself into the star stratosphere this year, if he can get that most meaningful gig in May, June, or soon thereafter.

I asked Loeffler if indeed Manny-Money gets done for May 2, and what with Canelo signing on to rumble with James Kirkland May 2, does that mean we’re that much more likely to see Golovkin scrap with Cotto, if GGG beats Murray?

“It’s possible, depending on when Cotto plans to fight,” Loeffler told me.

Low-key Loeffler almost bristled, lol, when I asked him if he’d reached out to Team Cotto about setting up a brouhaha.

“Michael, what kind of question is that? We have reached out to everyone, including Cotto, Carl Froch, Andy Lee, Mikkel Kessler, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Crickets!

“Cotto knows Gennady is his mandatory, and the WBC will enforce the mandatory after this next fight. I am sure Cotto will want one more payday before vacating the title, instead of fighting Triple G, nobody seriously thinks he will fight Gennady at 160,” Loeffler continued.

I’m not certain of that, myself, there are very few things I’m certain of, so I put the question to Team Cotto advisor Gaby Penagaricano, and emailed him a query, would Miguel be open to a scrap with Golovkin? I will insert the answer when it is supplied…

“Gennady is Cotto’s mandatory, they know know how to find us. Cotto will not fight us until he is forced to by the WBC,” Loeffler reiterated. “Gennady is ready and willing to fight Cotto in a unification fight if Cotto has no big name dance partner. It would sell out Madison Square Garden.”

Damn straight it would. That fight would be a legit Super Fight, and I will go out on a limb and say the action promised would and will blow the Floyd-Manny bout out of the water.

Loeffler offered some reasoning why Cotto should follow this route of logic.

“Cotto would make more fighting Triple G, because he is the ‘A side’ and we would be the ‘C side,’ as long as Cotto gets in the ring.”

Gosh, that seems like a quite reasonable stance and POV in terms of Team Golovkins’ reasonableness from a negotiating standpoint.

I can picture the Garden jammed to the point where the fire marshal is sweating….

What say you, fight fans? Does a Golovkin-Cotto scrap get your heart pulsating as it does mine? Weigh in, in our Forum.

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