Cotto vs Canelo fight in preliminary discussions

A potential fight for 2015 between reigning lineal middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former 154-pound titleholder Canelo Alvarez is being discussed, says Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who spoke to RingTV.com about what would be a true blockbuster event:

"There are preliminary talks with the Cotto camp and obviously with Golden Boy on behalf of Canelo. So the fact is that Cotto wants the fight and the fact is that Canelo wants the fight," said De La Hoya, who promotes Alvarez.

"We have to iron out details, but I'm very confident that this fight is going to be made because both fighters understand that the fans are demanding for this one to happen."

Cotto (39-4, 32 KO) technically promotes himself these days, but he is being aided by Todd duBoef of Top Rank, too, who helped guide his pro career from the very beginning. The 34-year-old Puerto Rican has experienced something of a rebirth under trainer Freddie Roach in his last two fights, obliterating Delvin Rodriguez and then Sergio Martinez.

But there are questions about how much he's really changed, given that Rodriguez was always supposed to be a tune-up and Martinez looked physically shot to bits in their fight. Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KO) is young, in his prime, and a strong fighter who has no injuries or anything else dragging him down.

The fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been in the on-deck circle, as it were, for a couple of years now. When Cotto went into his December 2012 fight with Austin Trout, a bout with Canelo was supposedly up next. Instead, Cotto dropped a decision to Trout at Madison Square Garden, and Canelo instead fought Trout in 2013. But with two straight wins and some nice hype behind his revitalization, Cotto-Canelo is once again a must-have fight for many fans.

There has been talk of the fight taking place on Cinco De Mayo weekend, but unless Floyd Mayweather wants to give up that date, it may be difficult to make a viable fight. Pay-per-view fights can't run head-to-head because distributors won't do it, and there's too much money to be left on the table to go off pay-per-view with this fight.

But whenever it can happen, here's hoping that it does. The fight is a natural for both guys, and a great next step in their stories.