According to a report on RingTV.com, Miguel Cotto will face Austin Trout on December 1st at Madison Square Garden in New York. Cotto vs. Trout will be for Trout’s WBA title strap, and it’s an important fight in the division. Trout gets the chance to score what would be by far the biggest win of his career, while Cotto looks to get the next and likely final phase of his career off to a fantastic start by capturing yet another championship.
Of course, this completely undoes our speculation about Cotto leading the pack to face Manny Pacquiao in the fall. However, what I had been saying all along was that for team Cotto, the Pacquiao rematch didn’t make sense right now. Not coming off a loss, and not when you have to agree to a catchweight.
Instead, by biding his time, Cotto could try to position himself for a showdown against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, perhaps for the ultra-popular fight weekend of Cinco de Mayo in 2013. That’s exactly what seems to be the case here, although the Trout fight is a risky endeavor.
The winner will indeed be ideally positioned for a Canelo date in 2013, however, Cotto is by no means assured of victory. Trout is quick, young and technically gifted, and Cotto will need to be able to break him down and punish him.
It’s an excellent fight to look forward to, and now it looks like Pacquiao’s camp will be focusing on the Timothy Bradley rematch.
