by David P. Greisman
Sergio Martinez calls this Saturday’s pay-per-view bout with Miguel Cotto “the most important fight of my career,” but he does not at all consider Cotto to be his most difficult opponent.
Rather, Martinez said during a June 3 chat on ESPN.com that it will not matter what Cotto does — insisting that the bout will still end early with the champion from Argentina as the winner.
“I'm not worried about anything that Cotto can possibly bring,” said during the chat.
“If Miguel decides to attack, it will be a short night for him,” Martinez said later “If he decides to box, it will be a much shorter night.”
This will be Cotto’s first foray into the middleweight division. He captured world titles at 140, 147 and 154. He’s only been stopped twice before — by Antonio Margarito in 2008 and by Manny Pacquiao in 2009.
Martinez is coming off decision wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2012 and Martin Murray in 2013. His last stoppage win came over Matthew Macklin in March 2012, the last of four consecutive bouts to end within the distance.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
