By Ryan Burton
Las Vegas - BoxingScene spoke to Team Sergio Martinez after his Las Vegas press conference, which took place over the weekend at the MGM Grand. Martinez, who is now widely regarded as the number three pound-for-pound fighter in the world has previously said that he would like to face Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, who are regarded as the two best fighters in the world.
Martinez is well aware that landing either of those fights will be difficult. BoxingScene asked the WBC middleweight champion for his thoughts on a potential clash with WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. "I would love to fight Miguel Cotto. He is a great champion and I think it would be a great fight for the fans."
Martinez's trainer Gabriel Sarmiento added, "Sergio has a lot of Puerto Rican fans. A fight with Cotto would be huge."
In an era where Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are the sport's only big pay-per-view stars. a Martinez-Cotto bout would be a big pay-per-view seller. A fight between the two Hispanic stars would have a chance to surpass Cotto-Margarito which sold 450,000 ppv units in 2008 if its marketed properly.
Cotto would have a chance to be the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four different weight divisions.
"It's a great opportunity for Cotto and he doesn't back away from challenges," Martinez told BoxingScene.
Martinez's promoter Lou DiBella added, "Cotto is a true warrior who doesn't shy away from anyone. Plus the fight could be at 155 so even if Cotto lost he would keep his belt. That way he could still have big fights versus Chavez Jr. or Margarito. Those fights might even be bigger if Cotto lost because fans may view the fights with Chavez and Margarito as more even. If Cotto won, he would be an even bigger star."
Cotto-Margarito is the biggest selling pay-per-view fight that didn't involve Pacquiao, Mayweather or De la Hoya in the last few years. Martinez-Cotto could be even bigger.
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