Kirkland and Cotto have fought Alvarez and they both lost. There was no question about Alvarez’ victory over Kirkland as the fight ended in third round with Alvarez as winner by TKO but Cotto claimed he was cheated on the judges’ scorecards in their last fight. Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach shared Cotto’s statement after the fight.
“It was close,” Cotto said. “We orchestrated the plan in a perfect way and we believe that were the winners of the fight,” he added.
For his part, Roach said the fight was marred with controversy and he believes Cotto outpointed Alvarez.
“Our last fight was I thought a very controversial decision,” Roach said. “I thought we won that fight.” he added,
On February 25, Cotto needs to win impressively against Kirkland or he may not be able to convince Alvarez’s camp to grant him a rematch.
Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) is a tough challenger having won his last four fights via knockout with a DQ over John Molina before losing to Alvarez.
“I definitely feel this is a step up. Like I said, it’s Miguel Cotto. Someone who’s been putting on for the sport of boxing for a long time and I’m definitely feeling like this is a great opportunity for me to bounce back. I’m definitely going to give my fans a great performance, said Kirkland, who has bee reunited with trainer Ann Wolfe.
For his part Cotto, who recently announced his plan to retire this year after two more fights after the Kirland bout, said Kirkland is a tough fighter and he will confront him with victory in mind.
“James is a tough fighter and stout boxer and he’s going to go to work with victory on his mind. I’m going to work with that, too. We are going to start camp today with Freddie and we are looking forward to the fight.
Cotto reiterated his desire to face Alvarez for the second time saying he was the clear winner of the fight despite the judges unanimous verdict.
“I’m here for the best fights and the best fighters out there so if Canelo Alvarez wants to fight, to clear what happened November 2015, they know where to find me. It was close. We orchestrated the plan in a perfect way and we believe that we were the winners of the fight.
Both Cotto and Kirkland are aiming to bounce back after losing in their last fights to Alvarez.
