Miguel Cotto's previously announced fight with Yoshihiro Kamegai will be the first of a multi-fight agreement between the surefire future International Boxing Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Promotions, Cotto and the company announced on Wednesday.
The announcement came as Cotto and Kamegai met the media at a news conference in Los Angeles to kick off the promotion of their vacant junior middleweight world title fight that will take place Aug. 26 in the main event of an HBO "World Championship Boxing" telecast (9:45 p.m. ET/PT) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Cotto told ESPN that he also plans to fight the second bout of the agreement on Dec. 2 -- the opponent to be determined -- assuming all goes well for him against Kamegai (27-3-2, 24 KOs), 34, of Japan, in August.
Also, Golden Boy and Miguel Cotto Promotions, the fighter's company that regularly puts on cards in his home of Puerto Rico, will partner to develop fighters on the island.
"Miguel Cotto is not only a legend in the ring, but on the entire island of Puerto Rico, which has one of the richest boxing traditions around the globe," Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya said in making the announcement. "Our new partnership will include Miguel's upcoming fights; working with Miguel Cotto Promotions' talented stable of fighters; and revitalizing boxing in Puerto Rico."
Cotto, one of boxing's biggest stars and the only Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in four weight divisions -- junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight -- will be fighting for the first time since he lost a decision and the middleweight world championship to Canelo Alvarez in November 2015. A Feb. 25 bout with James Kirkland was canceled when Kirkland suffered a broken nose during his training camp.
Cotto's union with Golden Boy, which previously promoted him for his two fights in 2012 -- decision losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout in junior middleweight world title bouts -- comes less than a month after Cotto and Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports agreed to dissolve their promotional agreement.
The 36-year-old Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) fought his previous two fights for Roc Nation Sports, against Alvarez and Daniel Geale, and still had one fight remaining on the deal. However, they could not agree to terms for the bout with Kamegai, who is also with Golden Boy and had already signed for the fight, which was initially in the works for June 24.
Now Cotto is with Golden Boy, a company he has long had a positive relationship with.
"I'm very proud to establish a tremendous partnership with Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar," Cotto said. "It couldn't work better -- from a boxer to a boxer. We share the same mentality and language of the sport and the business. We will create the perfect opportunities for the sport of boxing and the fans."