Miguel Cotto vs Jessie Vargas Fight to Happen? WBO Welterweight Champ Open to Facing Puerto Rican Superstar

Will the proposed Miguel Cotto vs Jessie Vargas fight happen this year? [Source: Flickr / Bryan Horowitz / CC]

Miguel Cotto is reportedly planning to return to the welterweight division and reigning World Boxing Organization 147-pound champion Jessie Vargas wants a piece of the Puerto Rican superstar. Will the Miguel Cotto vs Jessie Vargas fight happen soon?

Vargas, who won the WBO welterweight title via a ninth-round knockout victory against Sadam Ali earlier this month, said that he is open to defending his belt against Cotto. The 26-year-old believes the Miguel Cotto vs Jessie Vargas fight will be big, as fans will enjoy every second of the proposed bout.

“I was under the impression that Cotto was thinking of moving back down to 147 and if that is the case and if he was serious about it, I hold a title in the welterweight division,” Vargas told BoxingScene. “If he wants to fight at 147 I would love a fight between him and I and I think it would be a great fight that the fans would want to see.”

Cotto, who owns a 40-5 record with 33 knockout victories, won the World Boxing Council middleweight title via a stoppage win against Sergio Martinez in June 2014. The Puerto Rican boxing icon successfully defended the title in June 2015 but lost to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in their big-money bout in November last year.

Aside from the proposed Miguel Cotto vs Jessie Vargas fight, Vargas, who has a 27-1 record with 10 knockout victories, also wants a rematch with Timothy Bradley later this year. Bradley is set to face Manny Pacquiao for the third time on April 9, which means Vargas will have to wait before getting another shot at the former world champion.

But regardless of the result of the Pacquiao-Bradley 3 fight, Vargas said that he is determined to face Bradley again because he feels he was robbed off a chance to knock the California native out. The fight was stopped after the referee thought the 10-second bell was the signal to end the match. In the end, Bradley walked away with a unanimous decision victory to hand Vargas the first defeat of his career.

“I want Bradley. That’s the fight I want,” Vargas told BoxingScene. “We have unfinished business. Win or loss against Pacquiao. I want Bradley.”