A Miguel Cotto-Juan Manuel Marquez showdown could take place later this year, but there's just one thing keeping the negotiations from moving forward: the catch weight.

Cotto has fought beyond the 154-pound weight limit a total of nine times since losing his WBO welterweight title to Manny Pacquiao in 2009, as per Box Rec. The last three of those nine bouts were in the middleweight category, where only 160 to 168-pound boxer's fight.

Marquez, meanwhile, does most of his damage as a featherweight and lightweight, occasionally moving up to the welterweight division to clash with boxing's biggest names. The 42-year old Mexican shared that he would only agree to fight Cotto if the Puerto Rican sheds off almost 15 pounds and meet him at the welterweight limit of 145 pounds, per Boxing Scene.  

"If they want to do the fight, it would have to be at welterweight and have a clause where he can not rise above 152,153 pounds the following day," said Marquez. "To me that's an important point."

He added that the catch weight and the aforementioned stipulation should be fair enough. It's a common occurrence in catch weight matches that the lighter fighter loses weight while the heavier fighter gains a few pounds after official weigh-ins. Marquez is just being smart about the situation, but Freddie Roach disagrees.

The esteemed boxing trainer said over the weekend that he won't let his pupil lose that much weight in order to fight El Dinamita. He did pitch out what the Miguel Cotto camp deemed reasonable.

"No (I don't think Cotto can make 147), but maybe 150," he mused. "It would be a good fight. But can he make 147....I don't think so."

As of the moment, both camps still have ample time to figure things out. A possible fight between Cotto and Marquez won't be until September or October as the latter has already booked a tune-up fight in May, Boxing News 24 reported.

On the other hand, Cotto is still searching for a big-name opponent for his first of two fights scheduled for 2016. Amir Khan was initially the top target before the British pugilist eventually landed a Cinco de Mayo weekend clash with reigning WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The Cotto camp is now deliberating between Billy Joe Saunders and Liam Smith.

In an interview with Izquierdazo last month, Roach revealed that Marquez is definitely on Cotto's radar in the near future.

"I was thinking of opponents for Miguel Cotto down the line and I think (Marquez) would be a perfect (opponent), said Roach. "That would be a great fight. When a Puerto Rican and a Mexican get together it's always great."

It's evident that both camps want and need the fight. Now, it's just a matter of how they will get it done.