Report: Miguel Cotto turns down $10 million to fight ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, eyes Sergio Martinez

Former three-division world champion Miguel Cotto has turned down an offer of over $10 million  to fight former junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a fight that would have taken place in March, according to a report on ESPN.com.

Cotto apparently did so because he wants to instead pursue a fight with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. According to the story, Cotto wants to fight June 7 in New York City on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day parade, and he wants to fight for the middleweight title. Those two things out-weigh the notion that he will not get as much money to fight Martinez. If Cotto and Alvarez were to fight, it would have to be in March and no title would be up for grabs.

Golden Boy Promotions would have been lead promoter in the case of a Cotto and Alvarez fight as Golden Boy promotes Alvarez; it would have been televised on Showtime pay-per-view. If Cotto and Martinez is made, Top Rank will act as Cotto’s promoter, the story said, and the fight would be on HBO pay-per-view.

Lou DiBella, who promotes Martinez, said that while there have been talks for a fight with Cotto, the fight is not a done deal. DiBella also said Martinez wants the fight.

At question would be the weight. The fight presumably would be for Martinez’s 160-pound middleweight belt. The story suggests Cotto will be asking Martinez to meet him somewhere between junior middleweight (154) and middleweight.

Cotto has won titles at junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight.

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