By Miguel Rivera
WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28KOs) is confident he will prevail on June 7th, when he defends his belt against former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
After losing back to back fights to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Austin Trout in 2012, Cotto hired the services of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach and returned last year with an easy knockout win over Delvin Rodriguez.
Martinez and Roach went head to head in 2012, when Roach trained Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Martinez dominated Chavez for eleven rounds, but ran out of gas in the twelfth round. Martinez was hurt bad and dropped, but fought until the bell to win a very wide decision to capture Chavez's WBC belt.
"In the twelfth round, even with Chavez in his best moment and me being at my worst, Roach was unable to resolve the situation," Martinez told Carlos Narvaez. "That night [against Cotto] I hope to shine and do everything right, it is my job and my destiny. That night, I am going to win by knockout."
"What [Chavez] did with Roach, [by not properly training], was a constant lack of respect to the best trainer in the world. Now Roach has a second chance [with Cotto], but it's a shame that he's not going to win."