Cotto, 34, was due to meet mandatory challenger Gennady Golovkin as stipulated by the World Boxing Council following the Kazakh’s victory over Martin Murray in February, although the Silver title holder has agreed to step aside for Canelo.
Talks had been held before Cotto successfully defended his belt against Daniel Geale earlier this month and are said to be at an advanced stage. Sulaiman is looking forward to an official announcement between the pair and has once again moved to reassure fans that ‘GGG’ will definitely meet the winner.
“Cotto vs. Canelo is one of the match up combinations that many fans want to see. I think both sides will soon reach an agreement after Interim champion Gennady Golovkin accepted this situation,” said Sulaiman
“Cotto looked amazing in his last bout and ‘Canelo’ looked really accurate in his. It could be a great event, with Golovkin then fighting the winner next year.”
Canelo being the preferred option for Cotto now leaves Golovkin free for another defence of his WBA and IBO titles.
Chris Eubank Jr is rated number one by the WBA, whilst Peter Quillin is top of the middleweight rankings with the IBO. Either of those options would be appealing, although Golovkin and his team are known to be keen on a move up to 168lbs to face Carl Froch.
