Reigning IBO and WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin looms as the next opponent of Miguel Cotto, but his adviser insisted that they are not yet thinking about the Puerto Rican's next fight.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Gaby Peñagarícano, Cotto's legal adviser, played down speculations about a showdown between his client and Golovkin, who successfully defended his titles against Daniel Geale on Saturday.
After Golovkin's third-round knockout win at the Madison Square Garden, Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, called out Cotto, saying that the Puerto Rican should face the unbeaten Kazakh if he wants to prove that he is a legit middleweight champion.
"I want Cotto here in the Garden. If he calls himself the linear 160-pound champion, then he should fight a 160-pounder," Sanchez said. "If not, then vacate the title and go somewhere else - go back to 154. I think the public deserves that, the boxers, the organization deserve to have one champion, one 160-pound champion."
Peñagarícano played down Sanchez's statement, saying that Golovkin has yet to reach Cotto's level despite having a 30-0 record with an impressive 27 knockout wins.
"That was very funny from my dear friend Abel. He is my personal friend," Peñagarícano said. "Golovkin is a fighter who has not yet reached the majors in boxing. He is a fighter who has not even participated in a pay-per-view in his career. So it's a little premature for me to talk about Golovkin, but I'm not surprised by the statements of Abel."
Peñagarícano insisted that it is still too early to talk about Cotto's next fight, which will be his first title defense after capturing the WBC middleweight title with a dominating win against Sergio Martinez on June 7 in New York.
"We have not sat down with Miguel to discuss the upcoming fight. It is too early for us [to talk about his next fight] and we should be getting together in August," Peñagarícano said. "Miguel is in the driver's seat and once we know what he want to do, and the weight, and who Miguel wants to fight - then any fighter who wants to fight with him will have to stay at that weight or not fight. I do not think Golovkin is in a position to be dictating anything."
Aside from Golovkin, previous reports indicated that Cotto could face Saul Canelo Alvarez or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
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