WBC middlewight champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico may be putting his title on the line against former light middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez of Mexico on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. However, majority of the boxing world is more excited to see if the victor of the upcoming title match can provide middleweight's other champion, Gennady "Triple G" Golovkin, a real fight.
Golovkin's near perfect 8-round dismantling of the highly touted David Lemiuex early this month cemented the Kazakh's status as one of the pound-for-pound bests in the sport right now. His recent win also proved that he is a potential crowd and PPV magnet who's capable of filling venues and commanding significantly higher number of PPV orders, which is definitely not bad for a rising, non-American prizefighter.
The winner of the Cotto-Alvarez fight is scheduled for a historic showdown with Golovkin, a mega bout of epic proportions that may materialize in the middle of 2016. The problem, however, is that many experts see that both Cotto and Canelo are unwilling to sign a date with Golovkin and become the middleweight division's undisputed king.
"Golovkin appears to be so lacking in any obvious weaknesses," according to a Boxing News Online article. "It really is hard to envisage any fighter - even greats, or near greats like Canelo and Cotto - relishing the idea of facing him."
After destroying Lemieux in a decisive and very destructive manner, it is hard to bet on whether the winner of the Cotto-Alvarez would be willing to get inside the ring with Golovkin and deal with his power and skill for 12 rounds.
Should Canelo beat Cotto, Canelo's promoter, Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya, promised to make Alvarez-Golovkin a reality. The Mexican may be game to fight Golovkin if he wins over Cotto, but he is slow and has an inferior skill set in contrast with the Kazakh's.
Cotto himself admitted that he is not a pure middleweight, an indication that he might consider a Golovkin unification match if a catchweight is involved,should he win over Canelo. This is a sentiment shared by many boxing experts.
"Neither Canelo or Cotto stand any chance against GGG unless it's at 155lb or 154lb," Sham Ayub tweeted. "At 156+ GGG annihilates them both."
