If the fight was in Texas, it would be like a home game (or fight in this case) for Canelo who is huge in Texas. If the fight was in Vegas it would be a 50/50 between Cotto & Canelo fans, if it was in New York, Cotto would be the fan favorite.
Canelo gave some details of the negotiations that are ongoing with Cotto’s team via Boxing Scene.
“The [negotiations] are advanced, very advanced talks and hopefully in the next few weeks the fight will be done. I want that fight to be done before the end of the year and we are working hard on those negotiations,” Canelo told RED FM 88.1 Radio in Mexico.
Canelo admits Cotto’s side is “very difficult to negotiate with” – something that other fighters have complained about in the past.
One of the big obstacles is the official beer sponsor. Cotto recently signed a deal with Tecate and Canelo has a huge deal with rival Corona.
They are discussing the venue and the split. Canelo wants the fighting weight to fall at 155-pounds, which shouldn’t really be a problem since Cotto weighed only 155 when he captured the WBC title from Sergio Martinez.
“I love Las Vegas, where most of those [Cinco De Mayo event] dates are held, but another venue could be [in Texas]. We are looking at several options. This fight has to be a 50-50 split. We are at a difficult stage in negotiations,” Canelo said. “I want to stay at junior middleweight. If the fight with Cotto is done it will be for the middleweight championship, but it would be agreed upon for 155-pounds.”
Canelo also says he is not moving off the May 2nd date regardless of what Mayweather does.