By Kirk Jackson
After a brief separation lasting roughly a year and a half, Puerto Rican boxing superstar Miguel Cotto has reunited with Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions.
It appears he will with finish out the final phase of his career with Top Rank, which is a question in itself, because he is coming off consecutive defeats and there is some uncertainty in regards to the opponents he can fight.
There have been talks of Cotto will facing Delvin Rodriguez on October 5th at a site yet to be determined. The fight against Rodriguez looks to be a tune up fight for something big next year in 2014.
The last time Cotto had somewhat of a tune-up was against the undefeated Austin Trout, in which Trout upset Cotto, winning a unanimous 12 round decision.
Obviously, the Puerto Rican Star wants a different outcome this October.
The question is why go back to Top Rank?
Cotto does have his own promotional company and is the main attraction, as is Floyd Mayweather with his own promotional company, Mayweather Promotions. Juan Manuel Marquez and a slew of other fighters have done the same in the past.
When Cotto was a free agent, he had the freedom to fight non Top Rank affiliated fighters. He had the liberty to fight guys like Trout and also in his richest fight to date, going up against Floyd Mayweather.
Now that he is back with Top Rank, those options may not be available. Mayweather has shown no desire to do business with Top Rank and Bob Arum.
The option of facing Golden Boy Promotions fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who is also fighting exclusively on Showtime appears to be thrown out the window for Cotto as well..
For those who do not know, as of this year and potentially for the next couple of years in the foreseeable future, Top Rank fighters will predominately fight on HBO, while the Golden Boy affiliated fighters will be fighting on Showtime.
The move to Top Rank may have been inspired by not only the kind of opponents Arum can provide Cotto, but also the potential for Cotto to be successful and extending his promotional career after he is done fighting.
Miguel may have a solid stable of prospect fighters and the sky is the limit in regards to maximizing all of their talents.
But they may only go as far as the Cotto name takes them. If he continues to be on the losing end of fights, his promotional company will be in jeopardy. Perhaps being with Top Rank gives him the best chance to win, and the best chance to spread his promotional branch.
Another interesting note in the continuation of Cotto’s career is the acquisition of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
He is a trainer who will command respect based on his track record and he will also implore for Cotto to be more offensive and maybe he will add to Cotto’s arsenal.
Cotto’s trainer prior to Roach was Former Olympic Cuban coach Pedro Luis Diaz, who emphasized defense and he went 1-2 as Cotto’s trainer.
And prior to Diaz, the late Emanuel Steward was Cotto’s trainer for a few fights.
Hopefully, this experiment and change in trainers works out for Cotto. There may be plenty of uncertainty for the multiple division champion going forward.
Who will he fight aside from Rodriguez? How much longer does he have inside the ring and how long will the union of Freddie roach as his trainer last?
How long will the reunification with Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions last?
