Roach speaks to George Gigney about Cotto and his future

MIGUEL COTTO could return to welterweight to fight Juan Manuel Marquez, according to his trainer Freddie Roach.

The Puerto Rican hero, who has held world titles in four weight classes from super-lightweight through to middleweight, dropped a decision to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in November in a fight contested at a catchweight of 155lbs.

Roach hopes that Cotto returns to a weight he has not fought at since 2009 against Mexico’s Marquez, who himself has been inactive since a decision win over Mike Alvarado in 2014.

“I’d like to see him fight [Juan Manuel] Marquez and his team seemed to like the idea,” he told Boxing News.

“I don’t know if it will go anywhere but it might. That would probably be at 147lbs, I think we can still make that weight. I don’t think Miguel will go any lower than that. 147 to 150lbs would be good.”

It remains unclear whether Marquez will definitely return to the ring, having previously been linked to a potential fight with IBF world welterweight champion Kell Brook.

Roach is set to meet with Cotto this weekend to discuss potential opponents, and also revealed that unbeaten super-lightweight Terence Crawford is a name that has also cropped up.

“Obviously I’ll speak to Miguel about it properly, we’ll discuss some other opponents as well,” he said.

“Terence Crawford keeps popping up for these guys but I don’t think he’s ready for this level yet. I think he’s a great prospect and a future star, but I just don’t know if he’s ready for [Manny] Pacquiao and these guys yet.”

Freddie also gave his view on one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing – Alvarez versus Gennady Golovkin.

“I like ‘GGG’ to win that fight. I think he’s a little bit stronger but, again, Canelo showed last time how big and good he is,” he stated.

“Cotto couldn’t hurt him, he’s just a really big guy when he gets in the ring. I think ‘GGG’ is a little bit better as a fighter and he does have a lot of power. I do like him, he’s a very good fighter but it’ll be a very good test for him because he’s going in against a guy who’s a very good puncher also and who can take a punch.

“I like the fight, it’s a very good fight. They’ve both got tune up fights first – I hate tune up fights. I don’t know why they don’t just go for each other right away.”