Miguel Cotto's break from the sport of boxing is now apparently over and Puerto Rico's only four-division champion will fight next February.
Cotto will take on former world title challenger James Kirkland on February 25. The scheduled 12-round bout will headline an HBO PPV card being put on by Roc Nation Sports and Cotto Promotions and will take place at the Ford Center at The Star, the new training facility of the Dallas Cowboys in Frisco, Texas, that includes a 12,000-seat arena. THe fight will be contested at junior middleweight.
Cotto Promotions executive Bryan Perez confirmed to ESPN about the fight and said while Kirkland was not Cotto's first choice, but nonetheless, Cotto is focused on giving his fans the best show he can provide.
"Miguel is back in the ring and we are all excited," Perez said. "Like he always does, Miguel wants to go in the ring and put on a great show. We tried to do other fights, but you know how the business is. Kirkland was there, he was willing to fight Miguel, he makes good fights and we made the fight. Miguel will do his best to give a great show and an exciting fight."
Kirkland was one of several opponents who had been speculated as potential opponents after Cotto could not secure a fight with Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez. Both he and Cotto are coming off losses to junior middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez.
Although the deal is not complete, the co-feature of the card likely will be WBA "super" junior featherweight titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux making a mandatory defense against interim champion Moises Flores. Roc Nation, Rigondeaux's promoter, is close to a deal with the Flores camp.
