DiBella Rips: Everyone Involved Disrespected Martinez!

By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes

Promoter Lou DiBella is not happy with the disrespect that his boxer, WBC middleweight champion Sergio, received during the pre-fight promotion for Saturday's HBO Pay-Per-View fight with former three division world champion Miguel Cotto at New York's Madison Square Garden.

DiBella says Martinez has been treated as a "challenger" during the entire promotion by everyone involved, including HBO.

"On Saturday night they will find out who the champion is, because he wasn't treated like the champion during this whole promotion. We were treated like the challenger by everybody involved, from Cotto Promotions to Top Rank to HBO - we've been treated like the challenger and we're not the challenger. We're the champion and on Saturday night they will see who the champion is," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.

"He's a professional. He doesn't worry about that stuff. I feel a little dissed during this whole thing. I don't truly feel like a real co-promoter. The business of this event has sort of been conducted around us. But on Saturday night they are going to find out who the champion is."

DiBella says Martinez is already an "A-side" boxer, but he's always being treated like a fighter on a lower level.

"He's already an A-side but we've been on the short end of the stick every time. He shouldn't have been the B-side when we fought a rematch as the middleweight champion against Paul Williams. We shouldn't have been ordered to fight Dzinziruk and give up a f***ing belt so HBO can let Chavez fight Zbik and take a title. He shouldn't have been treated the way he's been treated for most of his defenses through most of his career. If he walks into the ring on Saturday night as champion and beats Miguel Cotto, then we are going to have a lot of leverage, then people are going to have to contend with Team Martinez," DiBella said.