According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, former jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto will likely make his return to the ring on September 28 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. "Nothing set. We are holding a date [at Barclays Center], that's all," Schaefer recently explained to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. Although Schaefer made it clear that none of the details, including the opponent, have been finalized, at the very least, steps are being taken to start planning Cotto's next move.
According to our own sources, there's a strong possibility that Cotto will be fighting for a title when he does make his long-awaited ring return. Both IBF jr. middleweight champion Ishe Smith and WBO jr. middleweight champion Zaurbek Baysangurov have bouts scheduled for July, but could potentially be ready by late September. There were some industry insiders who believed that he might be the backup plan for unified WBC & WBA jr. middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez if a September 14 showdown with undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather can't be made. With Schaefer revealing that they are now making plans for Cotto to return on his own September 28 date, it looks like a clash with Canelo will have to wait...at least for now.
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