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Miguel Cotto has the date (June 18th) and location (Barclays Center) all planned out for his return to the ring. All he needs is an opponent, and he's set his sights on James Kirkland. According to USA Today, Kirkland manager Michael Miller is "working with Eric Gomez from Golden Boy on an offer" for his charge to face Cotto on HBO pay-per-view.
Kirkland (32-2, 28 KO) missed all of 2014, got blown to bits by Canelo last May, and then killed a planned bout with Gabriel Rosado by asking for more money after terms had already been agreed upon. The man can still hit, but even if he somehow keeps his head on for long enough to make this fight happen, it's hard to imagine any outcome besides Cotto steamrolling him.
Cotto (40-5, 33 KO) had been looking at Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez as potential foes. With Provodnikov now booked to face John Molina and Marquez reportedly wanting a tune-up, attention turned to Kirkland.
Anyone up to predict the number of PPV buys? I'm thinking 120k, all due to Cotto's fanbase.