Months of wrangling have finally ended with a deal that will pit Puerto Rican megastar Miguel Cotto against WBC middleweight champion Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 7th.
Cotto, who revitalized his career in October 2013 by decimating an overmatched Delvin Rodriguez in under three rounds with Freddie Roach as his new trainer, will be back in MSG, which has been a home away from home. Even though he lost his last fight at the "World's most famous arena," to Austin Trout his record still stands at 9-1 there, and his rabid fan base always packs the house.
If Cotto wins, he will earn his fourth title in four weight classes, a distinction no Puerto Rican boxer has ever achieved despite Puerto Rico's longstanding boxing tradition. Martinez is a premier foe, though, with impressive wins over several quality fighters and 51 victories overall.
Martinez will bring the aggression to this matchup, openly expressing dislike for Cotto for his supposedly disrespectful attitude.
"He should never forget that I'm the champion. He has a lot of demands but I'm the champion. I'll say it, I don't think that he'll last five rounds. I would like to fight Cotto, but he is showing signs that he doesn't want to (fight), by asking for complicated conditions and he does not respect boxing history. I'm ready to knock Cotto out in five or six rounds and I know I will. He can not resist me. Disrespecting me is a very unfortunate thing. He should not forget that I'm the champion," Martinez said in January.
"In 2008 it was February 12th, I came over to greet him at a television studio and he never even turned his head to acknowledge me. What he did to me he does with everyone," Martinez also said. "But I am angry about something else. Because when Cotto went to the studio of a Mexican television network he mistreated the people who were employed by that studio. From that moment, I wanted to punish him."
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