By Norm Frauenheim–
Sergio Martinez probably won’t ever invite Miguel Cotto to a backyard barbecue. Martinez talks as if he just doesn’t like Cotto. Evident tension between the two is an entertaining sidelight to their intriguing fight on June 7 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
But their middleweight bout is interesting, hard to pick, mostly because it’s really it’s a question of who has the most left at the end of long, Hall of Fame careers.
Martinez looked like an aging NBA player the last time he climbed through the ropes and limped across the canvas on bad knees. The promise is that those knees are healthy and he’s as mobile as ever. Until opening bell, however, it’s fair to wonder how they’ll hold up the first time Martinez pivots to throw a punch or avoid one. It’s also safe to assume that Cotto will test them as early as possible with some lateral movement.
Meanwhile, there’s more scar tissue around Cotto’s eyes than there is on Martinez’ knees. Martinez is bound to test it with a precise jab that could re-open old wounds in an attempt to fulfill his prediction of a stoppage before the ninth round.
Does it matter if they don’t like each other? Not at all. Cotto has always proceeded as if he doesn’t care one whit about whether he’s liked. He’s quiet and disciplined, a man with more ring skill than social skill. He only asks for respect, and that’s something he has throughout a business known more for shifting feuds than real friendship. Cotto repeatedly says he just wants to do his job. With a unique consistency, he has.
During a conference call Thursday, Cotto was asked about Martinez’s annoyance at various issues, including a 159-pound catch weight. Predictably perhaps, Cotto seemed to dismiss the question, saying Martinez should speak to his management if he’s unhappy. Cotto, it seems, was not going to be drawn into a diversionary debate that could disrupt his attention on the task at hand. It was vintage Cotto, always pragmatic and never fooled by a feint.
“If he’s training for only seven or eight rounds, he’s in trouble,’’ Cotto said in a simple counter to Martinez’ promise to score a stoppage within nine.
Cotto also would not let himself be diverted by talk of a legacy, especially in his island home, Puerto Rico. A victory over Martinez would make him the first Puerto Rican to win a title in forth weight class. But he would not rank himself among Puerto Rican legends, including Felix Trinidad and Wilfredo Gomez.
“It’s a personal achievement and a personal matter that I want to win,’’ said Cotto, who will be at middleweight for the first time. “So I’m working toward that. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to be better than Gomez or better than Trinidad or better than the great champions that Puerto Rico has had. But for myself, for Miguel, this will be the biggest accomplishment of my career.’’
The tension between Cotto and Martinez is reported to be rooted in a chance encounter at an ESPN Deportes studio a few years ago. Cotto apparently ignored Martinez, who took it as sign of disrespect. Apocryphal or not, it has set the stage for an element of controversy. That’s never a bad thing to have in HBO’s run-up to a pay-per-view fight. Some personal drama is just another way to sell a fight that Top Rank’s Todd duBoef says has the potential to be the biggest fight that doesn’t include a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Cotto trainer Freddie Roach made a few comments that were rooted in the reported issues that divide the two fighters. Roach talked about Martinez making excuses, although the Argentine hasn’t questioned the condition of his knees. The media have.
“I don’t want to hear after the fight that his knees hurt,’’ Roach said.
Roach talked about Cotto attacking Martinez’ with body punches. Although smaller, Roach said the 5-foot-7 Cotto is stronger than the 5-10 Martinez.
Martinez, Roach said, “might be bigger, but he’s not better.’’
In test of what’s left, he’ll only have to be good enough.
