[For the Record, 4:46 p.m., Tuesday: An earlier version of this post stated that Puerto Rican Indepedence Day takes place on the weekend of June 7. The Puerto Rican Day Parade takes place on that weekend.]

Miguel Cotto’s retreat from interest in a bout against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez means another opportunity intrigued him.

A chance to claim a fourth different weight-class world title on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 7 in New York City against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is that option.

Promoter Bob Arum said Tuesday, “I’m optimistic that fight is going to happen. It isn’t done yet, but there’s some magic in Miguel fighting in the New York area that weekend.”


The bout would be an HBO pay-per-view fight; one official close to the situation said that “it would be the highlight” of the network’s first half along with Manny Pacquiao’s April fight.

Arum said his staff is pricing the benefit of perhaps staging the fight at MetLife Stadium -- home of the New York Giants and Jets -- versus placing it where Cotto usually fights, a renovated Madison Square Garden.

Puerto Rico’s Cotto has defeated former champions Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito at MSG.

“We’re pricing the pros and cons of having another 10,000 to 20,000 people watching the fight outdoors against the expenses of making sure we’re covered from possible rain,” Arum said.


The 33-year-old Cotto (38-4, 31 knockouts) informed Golden Boy Promotions this week he was passing for now on a purse in excess of $10 million to fight Alvarez on March 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

On the heels of a knockout of Delvin Rodriguez in October after uniting with Hollywood trainer Freddie Roach, Cotto will go after Martinez (51-2-2, 28 knockouts), who turns 39 in February and hasn’t lost since winning a world middleweight title in 2010.

World Boxing Council champion Martinez hasn’t fought since April, however, dealing with knee and hand injuries.

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