Saturday night at Madison Square Garden probably won’t be the last time Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez square off in a ring. If any bout shapes up for a rematch, this one does.
Styles make fights. And so does an equal dose of pride, dedication, and respect for the sport. An expected sell-out crowd will add to a festive atmosphere.
All those ingredients make their HBO pay-per-view showdown for Martinez’s WBC middleweight championship at Madison Square Garden the most anticipated boxing event of the year not involving someone named Mayweather.
“It’s a red-hot matchup that has all the ingredients of the best of big-time boxing,” said Mark Taffet of HBO. “Two superior performers, an intense rivalry with passionate fan bases, and a genuine debate as to who will prevail.”
A healthy Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs) should win this fight. The Argentine is a southpaw with great athleticism and boxing talent. His hands should be fast enough to keep Cotto at a distance. His power is sneaky dangerous.
Being the slightly bigger man should help Martinez absorb a punch if he gets tagged occasionally. But Martinez is coming off two knee surgeries and a year-long absence from the ring. At age 39, he insists he has made a “100 percent” recovery. Yet, the real truth won’t be known until the bell rings Saturday.
Healthy or not, the Martinez can’t let Cotto get to his body, which is precisely what trainer Freddie Roach hopes to do. Martinez has been knocked down once in each of his last two fights. How much of that is due to his injuries and how much is due to Father Time is uncertain.
“Muhammad Ali, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, all the warriors get knocked down,” Martinez said. “The most important thing is to get up and continue to be a champion like I am.”
Martinez, who will wear a protective sleeve on his knee, has grown irritated by the repeated questioning about the condition of his right knee that underwent surgery following his last bout in April 2013. He’s also coming off a broken left hand and injured shoulder. That’s why the over-riding question surrounding the bout is how much Martinez has left in his deteriorating body or is he a bionic man.
“I’m ready for the best Sergio,” Cotto said. “If he doesn’t come 100 percent, he’s going to suffer throughout the whole fight.”
Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) will be fighting for the ninth time at the Garden, where he is 7-1. His only loss came in his appearance in December 2012 when he dropped a one-sided decision to Austin “No Doubt” Trout. But Cotto, 33, has been rejuvenated under Roach, who teamed with him on a third-round stoppage of Delvin Rodriguez last October.
Roach has worked on Cotto’s footwork and ring generalship, putting him in better position to utilize his devastating left hook.
“We’ll set traps for him,” Roach said. “We’ll catch this guy.”
While Martinez is making the sixth defense of a title he first won four years ago, this is the first fight for Cotto at middleweight. A needless catch-weight of 159 pounds wasn’t a factor as both fighters made weight on Friday; Cotto 155 pounds, Martinez 158 ³/₄ .
Martinez should be the bigger man and perhaps faster man on Saturday. If he is indeed healthy, Martinez should win. But conquering the rehab and the ring rust at age 39 is a tall order. Cotto will be fighting to become the first Puerto Rican to capture a title in four different weight divisions. That’s major motivation.
PREDICTION: Cotto by split decision and they’ll do it again soon.