Cotto tinanggalan ng WBC title

LAS VEGAS – La­la­banan ni Miguel Cotto si Canelo Alvarez na wa­lang idedepensang ko­rona.

Ito ay matapos huba­ran ng World Boxing Council si Cotto ng suot niyang middleweight title nang hindi magka­sun­do sa sanctioning fee para sa upakan nila ni Alvarez.

“After several weeks of communications, countless attempts and good faith time extensions trying to preserve the fight as a WBC World Championship, Mi­guel Cotto and his pro­motion did not agree to comply with WBS Rules & Regulations, while Saul Alvarez has agreed to do so. Accor­dingly, the WBC must rule on the matter prior to the fight (and) hereby announces that effective immediately (the WBC) has withdrawn recognition of Miguel Cotto as WBC World Middleweight Champion,” wi­ka ni WBC president Mau­­ricio Sulaiman.

Dahil dito ay ang kan­yang karangalan na la­mang ang itataya ni Cotto (40-4-0, 33 KOs) kontra kay Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) sa Linggo sa Mandalay Events Cen­ter.

Kung mananalo si Ca­nelo makakamit niya ang bakanteng WBC mid­dleweight crown na maaari niyang itaya para sa isang unification bout kay Gennady Golovkin.

Ang panalo naman ni Cotto ang magbibigay sa kanya ng premyo pati na ang $300,000 sanctioning fee na ayaw niyang bayaran sa WBC.

Matapos matalo kina Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at Austin Trout noong 2012 ay kinuha ni Cotto si trainer Freddie Roach.

Sa paggiya ni Roach ay tatlong laban ang naipanalo ni Cotto.

“It’s going to be a great fight,” wika ni Roach sa Cotto-Alvarez fight. “And we are loo­king for a knockout. We will be the first person to knock out Alvarez.”

Tinalo naman ni May­weather si Alvarez no­ong 2013.