Sergio Martinez has shown fight-stopping power since crashing the scene with a TKO win over Alex Bunema in 2008, but he hasn't won inside the distance since 2012. Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs) believes that will change with his June 7 middleweight championship defense against Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) on HBO PPV.
Sergio Martinez was already deserving of respect, but his accomplishments are not fully appreciated, according to his promoter, Lou DiBella, who says that it a win in the June 7 bout with Miguel Cotto that will finally get the middleweight champion more widespread recognition.
For much of the “Face Off” segment between Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto that aired on HBO last week, the lineal middleweight champion questioned Cotto’s contractual demands — demands he accepted, including a catch weight of 159 pounds, Cotto’s name being listed first in the marketing of the fight, and Cotto walking to the ring and being introduced in the spot typically reserved for the champion.
Promoter Lou DiBella finds it “silly” and “annoying” that the Sergio Martinez-Miguel Cotto middleweight title fight will be contested at a maximum catch weight of 159 pounds. Nevertheless, their contracts call for Martinez and Cotto to weigh no more than 159 pounds, one beneath the middleweight limit, for their highly anticipated June 7 showdown for Martinez’s WBC middleweight title at Madison Square Garden (HBO Pay-Per-View). The 33-year-old Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) began his pro career 13 years ago as a junior welterweight, three weight classes below middleweight, and has never fought at a weight higher than the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds.
Question: Fighting with injuries (knee, elbow, wrist), how hard is it to prepare when your body hurts for any fight? Sergio Martinez: It is not easy to prepare for a fight when you have some of the ailments that I have when preparing for a World Championship fight. I struggle with joint pains, knee pain, and shoulder pain. Without my physical therapist, Dr. Raquel Bordons, I would not be able to train today, and probably would’ve had to retire due to my injuries.
Question: Training with Freddie Roach must be a different experience for you. Can you describe why he's one of the best trainers in boxing? Miguel Cotto: Freddie is a great person and a great trainer, who understands our sport. He was a fighter and has trained some of the best boxers in the world over the last 10 to 15 years. He is a true professional that knows how to get the best out of every fighter that he trains. He makes everyone better and his preparation for each fight is second to none.
LONDON - This summer’s eagerly anticipated showdown between superstars Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto will be shown live and exclusive on BoxNation. ‘The Channel of Champions’ has once again proved its punching power by landing the mega middleweight world title clash on June 7th at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York. This follows an incredible 2014 which has seen the world’s best boxing channel air a host of leading matchups including Floyd Mayweather’s toe-to-toe superfight with Marcos Maidana, plus Manny Pacquiao’s sensational ring return against Tim Bradley.
World Boxing Council (WBC)/The Ring middleweight champion and Argentina's favorite son, SERGIO "Maravilla" MARTÍNEZ, opened up his Miami training camp yesterday and held an intense, two plus hour open media workout before a throng of media ahead of his upcoming world title defense and the most eagerly anticipated boxing event of 2014 against three-division world champion and the Pride of Puerto Rico, MIGUEL COTTO - taking place on June 7, at the "Mecca of Boxing," Madison Square Garden and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.
Question - You have been waiting to face Cotto for almost 4 years. Why do you think he wants to fight you now? Sergio Martinez - Miguel Cotto believes that I am ripe for the picking and that my age has finally caught with me. What he doesn’t realize is that for the Martin Murray fight, I had many injuries going into the fight. I did not want to postpone the event because it was always a dream of mine to defend my title in Argentina so we as a team decided to go forward with the fight with Martin Murray. I still came out victorious in that fight but Miguel Cotto thinks I’m on the decline, which is the only reason I believe he chose to face me now.
Question - Why Fight Martinez now and not 4 years ago? Miguel Cotto - Everything happens at the time it needs to happen. I do not push destiny. Boxers take different paths in their career and those roads don’t always come together. If someone would have told me that I would be fighting for a world championship at 160 pounds four years ago I would have not thought possible. But here I am looking to make history – becoming the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four different weight divisions.