According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, world Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto will not fight again in 2014.
The reason for Cotto’s decision was simple logistics. Freddie Roach, Cotto’s Hall of Fame trainer, also trains welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao, who is preparing for his Nov. 22 defense against Chris Algieri. But because the fight will take place in Macau, China, Pacquiao’s training camp will take place in his native Philippines with no part of it slated to take place at Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, which is typically where Pacquiao does half his camp for fights in the United States.
“We were trying to coordinate having [Roach] with him at all times during his camp for the planned December fight, but at the end, it was not possible due to his prior commitments with various fighters that will train in Asia during a good part of that period,” Gaby Penagaricano, Cotto’s adviser, told ESPN.com. “We looked at various scenarios, but at the end, Miguel decided to wait until next year. He has no problem at all not fighting this year and is very happy with his decision.”
Top Rank president Todd duBoef, Cotto’s promoter, told ESPN.com that Cotto would fight in either February or March on pay-per-view. As for a venue, duBoef said the No. 1 choice is Madison Square Garden, so he will need to talk to Garden executives about available dates.
“Obviously, the Garden is home to him. It’s a wonderful place,” duBoef said.
