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When RING and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez meets three-division titlist Miguel Cotto on Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden, among the big questions will be what will go first - Martinez's right knee or Cotto's face?
Martinez (51-2-2, 28 knockouts), 39, has vowed to retire Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) - who has been prone to cuts - by slicing the Puerto Rican challenger's face to ribbons much as he has those of past opponents.
The 33-year-old Cotto will be in his second fight with six-time Trainer of The Year Freddie Roach, who has stated that Martinez - injury-ravaged over the course of his past two fights - will last just "four rounds."
"Miguel Cotto will attack early, scoring points in the opening rounds," said Norm Frauenheim of THE RING and. "If Martinez's knees hold up, his jab could open up scar tissue that frames Cotto's eyes like lines on an old map."
Having last fought in April 2013 when he rose from an eighth-round knockdown for a unanimous decision victory over Martin Murray, Martinez said he plans to bust up Cotto as he has past opponents.
Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. were all left with badly bleeding faces after losses to Martinez. In additon, Darren Barker suffered a perforated eardrum during an 11th-round stoppage loss to Martinez and Sergei Dzinziruk was dropped five times during an eighth-round knockout loss.
On the other hand, Martinez has risen from the canvas during each of his past three fights comprised of an 11th-round stoppage of Macklin and unanimous decision victories over Murray and Chavez.
"Sergio Martinez might have slipped but I haven't seen Martinez unable to pull the trigger yet," said Cliff Rold of BoxingScene. "If Martinez is done, Miguel Cotto can knock him off."
Martinez is 7-0, with four knockouts since falling by majority decision to Williams in December 2009, having avenged that loss by stopping Williams in the second round in November 2010. The win over Williams was in defense of the WBC belt Martinez won by unanimous decision from Pavlik in April 2010. Martinez has also knocked out former titleholders Dzinziruk and Barker in the eighth- and 11th-rounds, respectively.
After the Chavez fight, Martinez received eight stitches to repair a cut over his left eye, two staples in his head and suffered from both a broken left hand and torn ligaments in his right knee, the latter of which required surgery to repair. Martinez required a second surgery after having damaged the knee injury, later determined to be a torn right meniscus, after his triumph over Murray.
"Sergio Martinez's knees are the question, an unknown that makes this one as hard as any to pick," said Frauenheim. "Not even Martinez can really be certain at how they'll react under the stress of having to pivot while throwing a punch or eluding one."
Having fought at junior middleweight since 2010, Cotto is moving up to a middleweight catchweight of 159 pounds for the first time in an attempt to become the first Puerto Rican fighter to win a fourth title in as many different weight classes against Martinez. Cotto is doing so the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade. Cotto is 9-1 with five knockouts in New York, and 7-1 with four stoppage at the Garden.
Cotto is coming off a third-round stoppage of Delvin Rodriguez in October that helped him bounce back from consecutive decision losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Austin Trout in May and December 2012, respectively. Cotto's loss to Trout represented his eighth appearance at the Garden and his 10th in New York.
At the Garden, Cotto decisioned former world titleholders Shane Mosley, Joshua Clottey and Paulie Malignaggi, stopped Zab Judah and Antonio Margarito and lost to Trout. The Trout fight was his last appearance in New York.
The loss to Mayweather ended a three-fight knockout streak by Cotto, whose previous setback had come via 12th-round stoppage to Manny Pacquiao in November 2009. The triumph over Margarito had avenged the first loss of Cotto’s career, an 11th-round technical knockout in July 2008.
"If this fight occurred three years ago, I wouldn't have given Miguel Cotto a chance to win, much less capture more rounds than I have fingers in one hand," said Ryan Maquinana of CSNBayArea
"But Sergio Martinez has looked vulnerable in his past few fights and considering how his knee gave up on him against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Martin Murray, it's the perfect storm to mitigate any size advantage the Argentine might have over Cotto."
Sergio Martinez vs Miguel Cotto Live
12 rounds – Middleweight division (for Martinez's RING, WBC titles)
Date: Saturday, June 07, 2014
Time: 9pm ET
TV: HBO PPV
Martinez (51-2-2, 28 knockouts), 39, has vowed to retire Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) - who has been prone to cuts - by slicing the Puerto Rican challenger's face to ribbons much as he has those of past opponents.
The 33-year-old Cotto will be in his second fight with six-time Trainer of The Year Freddie Roach, who has stated that Martinez - injury-ravaged over the course of his past two fights - will last just "four rounds."
"Miguel Cotto will attack early, scoring points in the opening rounds," said Norm Frauenheim of THE RING and. "If Martinez's knees hold up, his jab could open up scar tissue that frames Cotto's eyes like lines on an old map."
Having last fought in April 2013 when he rose from an eighth-round knockdown for a unanimous decision victory over Martin Murray, Martinez said he plans to bust up Cotto as he has past opponents.
Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. were all left with badly bleeding faces after losses to Martinez. In additon, Darren Barker suffered a perforated eardrum during an 11th-round stoppage loss to Martinez and Sergei Dzinziruk was dropped five times during an eighth-round knockout loss.
On the other hand, Martinez has risen from the canvas during each of his past three fights comprised of an 11th-round stoppage of Macklin and unanimous decision victories over Murray and Chavez.
"Sergio Martinez might have slipped but I haven't seen Martinez unable to pull the trigger yet," said Cliff Rold of BoxingScene. "If Martinez is done, Miguel Cotto can knock him off."
Martinez is 7-0, with four knockouts since falling by majority decision to Williams in December 2009, having avenged that loss by stopping Williams in the second round in November 2010. The win over Williams was in defense of the WBC belt Martinez won by unanimous decision from Pavlik in April 2010. Martinez has also knocked out former titleholders Dzinziruk and Barker in the eighth- and 11th-rounds, respectively.
After the Chavez fight, Martinez received eight stitches to repair a cut over his left eye, two staples in his head and suffered from both a broken left hand and torn ligaments in his right knee, the latter of which required surgery to repair. Martinez required a second surgery after having damaged the knee injury, later determined to be a torn right meniscus, after his triumph over Murray.
"Sergio Martinez's knees are the question, an unknown that makes this one as hard as any to pick," said Frauenheim. "Not even Martinez can really be certain at how they'll react under the stress of having to pivot while throwing a punch or eluding one."
Having fought at junior middleweight since 2010, Cotto is moving up to a middleweight catchweight of 159 pounds for the first time in an attempt to become the first Puerto Rican fighter to win a fourth title in as many different weight classes against Martinez. Cotto is doing so the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade. Cotto is 9-1 with five knockouts in New York, and 7-1 with four stoppage at the Garden.
Cotto is coming off a third-round stoppage of Delvin Rodriguez in October that helped him bounce back from consecutive decision losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Austin Trout in May and December 2012, respectively. Cotto's loss to Trout represented his eighth appearance at the Garden and his 10th in New York.
At the Garden, Cotto decisioned former world titleholders Shane Mosley, Joshua Clottey and Paulie Malignaggi, stopped Zab Judah and Antonio Margarito and lost to Trout. The Trout fight was his last appearance in New York.
The loss to Mayweather ended a three-fight knockout streak by Cotto, whose previous setback had come via 12th-round stoppage to Manny Pacquiao in November 2009. The triumph over Margarito had avenged the first loss of Cotto’s career, an 11th-round technical knockout in July 2008.
"If this fight occurred three years ago, I wouldn't have given Miguel Cotto a chance to win, much less capture more rounds than I have fingers in one hand," said Ryan Maquinana of CSNBayArea
"But Sergio Martinez has looked vulnerable in his past few fights and considering how his knee gave up on him against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Martin Murray, it's the perfect storm to mitigate any size advantage the Argentine might have over Cotto."
Sergio Martinez vs Miguel Cotto Live
12 rounds – Middleweight division (for Martinez's RING, WBC titles)
Date: Saturday, June 07, 2014
Time: 9pm ET
TV: HBO PPV
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