Cotto-Lemieux possible for Dec. 2

According to report by RingTV, sources suggest that if everything goes smoothly in his upcoming bout with Yoshihiro Kamegai on HBO, Aug. 26, Miguel Cotto is penciled in for a big fight on December 2 in New York.

There had been previous reports that HBO was only willing to take this fight with Kamegai if it was going to lead into a bigger fight later in the year for Cotto, and a fight against David Lemieux, who has been mentioned as a possible opponent, would seemingly fit the bill.

Lemieux, 28, is most recently coming off of a unanimous decision win over Marcos Reyes this past May, just a couple months after scoring a killer knockout on Curtis Stevens in March. He’s been pretty vocal about wanting a big fight and any time Cotto fights in New York, he certainly draws a crowd.

Cotto, 36, hasn’t fought since losing a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez back in November 2015. His fight with Kamegai in a couple weeks could be a fan-friendly style clash, but it’s pretty much expected that Cotto will be able to handle Kamegai without too many problems.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the Kamegai fight, from a business standpoint anyway, is that it’s running head-to-head with Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor — an event that is anticipated to do big numbers and hog all the attention, particularly on that night. As it so happens I’ve drawn the Cotto-Kamegai assignment while Scott Christ tackles the spectacle of the century, so I expect a pretty lonely evening.

Cotto has made firm statements that this year will mark his last in boxing, and if he goes out against a dangerous opponent like Lemieux, well, it should be fireworks one way or another.