Miguel Cotto and Saul Canelo Alvarez could end up facing each other later this year, trainer Freddie Roach and boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya said.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Roach admitted that he will be an interested spectator in the upcoming match between Alvarez and Erislandy Lara on July 12 as he is looking at the possibility of pitting Cotto against Canelo.
Roach said that Cotto, who recently captured the WBC middleweight title with a win against Sergio Martinez, could face Alvarez at 154-pounds if the latter wins against Lara in his upcoming fight.
"Alvarez could be a fight for us," Roach said. "I'm not sure. It depends on what comes next. Alvarez is a big name out there, but he's got a big fight coming up with Lara. If he wins, that could be a fight for us at 154."
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya, who handles Alvarez's fight, was impressed with Cotto's performance against Martinez, and he admitted that the Puerto Rican is an ideal opponent for Canelo since it could revive the boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"I would love to work with Cotto Promotions on a possible Canelo-Cotto fight," De La Hoya told RingTV. "July 12 is very important toward possibly seeing the pugilistic rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico once again. It would be Salvador [Sanchez] vs. [Wilfredo] Gomez, [Julio Cesar] Chavez Sr. vs [Edwin] Rosario, De la Hoya vs. [Felix] Trinidad."
For his part, Alvarez, who was previously snubbed by Cotto despite being offered a hefty $10 million purse, is also interested in making the fight happen, knowing that it would be big considering the rich history between Mexican and Puerto Rican boxers.
"Definitely, without a doubt, that's something that people want to see," Alvarez said. "So if that were to happen, well, definitely, that would be a huge fight. But at the moment, I've got an obligation pending at the moment and that's Erislandy Lara and that's my primary focus."
Aside from Alvarez, reports indicated that Cotto might face WBA and IBO middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin, but Roach said that he is unsure if Cotto will stay at 160 to face Triple G.
