Miguel Cotto promises ‘the best’ he can give against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Miguel Cotto is a man of few words.

In a media session that proved it, the middleweight world champion from Puerto Rico gave limited answers on a variety of topics in strange reporter-by-reporter meetings along the ropes of Wild Card Boxing Club’s practice ring.

Reporters were told not to ask Cotto (40-4, 33 knockouts) about fights beyond his HBO pay-per-view bout against Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Nov. 21, quite a request given the interest in the next mandatory foe, unbeaten two-belt middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

In his four-question meeting with the Los Angeles Times, Cotto, 35, was asked about the age difference with Alvarez, 25. Does wisdom or youth decide the outcome?

“I don’t think about any of that,” Cotto said. “I’m just here to do my work, no matter what age he has, no matter what age I have. I’m here to do my work the best I can and I guarantee to you on Nov. 21, the Miguel Cotto you’re going to see is the best Miguel Cotto you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Powerful stuff by Cotto’s standards. It’s too bad Cotto’s people can’t let him know there’s an interested audience that would like to hear him elaborate on a variety of issues.

This is a fighter who endured the heart-attack death of his father and trained himself through a period that included his controversial loss to Antonio Margarito in 2009, a defeat later that year to Manny Pacquiao and a competitive but unsuccessful showing against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2012.

He was ready to give up fighting after his fourth defeat, a loss to Austin Trout, but Cotto met with trainer Freddie Roach and together they teamed for three consecutive victories, including a title in a fourth weight class.

“The only way you can win a fight is working hard. That’s what we can do here,” Cotto said. “Just working here on anything Freddie wants me to do. That’s what I do. Every day.”

Roach said earlier Wednesday that Cotto should be the fitter fighter, given Alvarez’s past difficulties with mid-fight fatigue against the likes of Mayweather and Trout.

“I don’t know anything about Canelo. I don’t pay attention to anything about how Canelo is training for this fight, how he’s looked,” Cotto said. “I’m just here to train and do my part.”

The World Boxing Council mandated that the winner of the Cotto-Alvarez fight has 15 days to begin negotiations with Golovkin. If the winner doesn’t, the WBC belt will be stripped and given to Golovkin.

An official with knowledge of Cotto’s strategy, but unauthorized to speak publicly on the matter, said Golovkin’s 150,000 (or less) pay-per-view buys in his Oct. 17 victory over David Lemieux does little to compel Cotto toward that bout should he beat Alvarez.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told The Times last month that Cotto has promised him he’d pursue a Golovkin bout if he wins, but the official close to Cotto said if the Alvarez bout is competitive, a rematch is a more favorable fight.

Said Cotto: “We pick every opponent at the right moment. This is the right moment for Canelo.”

And with that, time was up.

Twitter: @latimespugmire