Miguel Cotto Decides To Face Sergio Martinez, Wants Fight To Be Held At Madison Square Garden Not MetLife Stadium

Miguel Cotto officially expressed his desire to face Sergio Martinez for a June 7th bout date playing down speculations suggesting that he could make his return to the ring in March against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

In a holiday conference in Puerto Rico, Cotto revealed that his main goal is to steal the WBC middleweight title of Martinez, adding that they are just waiting for confirmation from their promoters.

"I want to go with Martinez. The title is the main goal. We are only waiting on the confirmations from his team and if all goes well the fight will happen. The date is June 7 and I would rather fight where my historical roots are, Madison Square Garden. I believe that the fight with Canelo is premature right now. He is 23 years old and his name will be around," Cotto said via Boxingscene.

Cotto, who fought at the light middleweight division in his last six fights, will be facing a bigger fighter in Martinez, but the 33-year-old former three-division champion said that he is not worried about the potential disparity in size.

"If you look at the physicality of Martinez, he has never been a full 160-pounder. He's always weighed in at 157 and 158 pounds. Rarely does he come in at 160. So he's not a real middleweight," Cotto said.

As for the venue of the fight, Cotto wants the fight to be held at the Madison Square Garden -- where most of his fights were held -- and not at the MetLife Stadium.

"It's June 7th at the Garden. If it's Martinez - great, and if not it will be someone else on June 7th. Miguel was unequivocally clear that he will fight at Madison Square Garden and nowhere else," Cotto's legal adviser, Gaby Penagaricano, told Boxingscene.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum previously said that he is looking to set up the bout at the MetLife Stadium -- the home stadium of the New York Giants and Jets.

Arum believes that the fight will do good numbers at the MetLife Stadium as he expects 40,000 to 50,000 spectators, but his suggestion could be shelved, knowing that MSG is considered by Cotto as his "home away from home".