Miguel Cotto vs. Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez Preview
By James Lopez, RCM Boxing Correspondent
New York,NY (June 5th, 2014)– On June 7, 2014 Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KO’s) will try to make history by becoming the first Puerto Rican fighter to win titles in 4 different weight classes. What stands in his way is the charismatic middle weight champion of the world Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KO’s). These two hall of fame fighters will face off in Madison Square Garden. Miguel Cotto has sold out MSG 8 times, which is more than any other fighter in boxing history. Sergio Martinez’s last bout filled Velez Sarsfield stadium with 50,000 screaming Argentineans. This bout promises to bring an electric atmosphere that has not been seen in years at the Garden.
The Breakdown of Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez
The Height
Coming into the fight Sergio Martinez would come in as the taller fighter at 5’10 compared to Cotto’s 5’7 stature. Most people believe this would be a huge advantage for Martinez but in reality it is not because Martinez does not fight tall. His fighting style is to stay low with his hands down and using his waist as his main arsenal of defense when avoiding punches. Expect both fighters to be seeing each other close to eye level throughout the fight.
The Reach
Where Martinez’s size advantage shows is in his reach. Martinez’s arm length is 73’ inches, 6 inches longer than Cotto’s 67’ inch reach. In order for Martinez to use this to his advantage he should throw combinations from a distance and avoid fighting in the inside with Cotto. Not saying that Martinez is not a good inside fighter because he is, but he will make the fight a lot more competitive than it has to be by choosing to fight in the inside. Despite this reality Sergio Martinez will most likely not shy away from fighting Miguel Cotto on the inside at certain times in the fight because it is in his nature to do, just like in the Chavez Jr. fight.
Look for Miguel Cotto to cut the distance between him and Martinez in an intelligent manner. Miguel Cotto usually shortens the distance in an intelligent way by jabbing and moving his head then going to the body and following upstairs as suppose to Chavez Jr. who just tried to close the gap on Martinez by just rushing in without much punching or head movement. Every time Chavez Jr. tried to close the gap he was susceptible to Martinez’s offense onslaught do not expect the same thing to happen to Cotto. When Cotto closes the gap this is when he will probably do his best work against Martinez by ripping him to the body and head but he has to be careful because Martinez does not shy away from exchanges in the inside and Cotto is very open to Martinez’s left uppercuts.
Miguel Cotto will also try another tactic to close the distance. Cotto has a tendency to fight going backwards in the middle rounds which makes his opponents chase him even when he is suppose to be the aggressive fighter. This strategy was evident in the Mayweather and Austin Trout bouts. Expect Cotto to do the same thing with Martinez. The reason why Cotto does this is to be more defensive while waiting for his opponent to fall into his trap. When he lures in his opponent he sometimes surprises them by closing the gap real quick by suddenly coming forward and unleashing a combination.
The Weight
Martinez is the naturally heavier fighter who will be entering the ring weighing around 167 lbs. Miguel Cotto the smaller fighter will probably be weighing around 159 lbs by fight night. This is one of Cotto’s biggest disadvantages in the fight. Miguel Cotto has been known to be a physically strong fighter who can box and bully his opponent in the ring. This was evident when Mayweather was lifted off his feet and was carried on Cotto’s shoulder with ease in the 2nd round of their fight. Paulie Malignaggi also admits that Miguel Cotto was the strongest and roughest fighter he has every faced. Malignaggi claimed that Cotto smartly uses his elbows, knees, and shoulders and had his shins badly bruised after the fight. This type of rough housing can throw a fighter off his game plan by not allowing him to settle into the fight.
Sergio Martinez will most likely not have to face this version of Cotto because he will be the heavier fighter on fight night. Austin Trout who is the same height and weighs virtually the same as Martinez found it a lot easier to keep Cotto from manhandling him in the ring as suppose to other Cotto opponents. It was clear that Cotto had to work much harder to have Trout against the ropes and rrough him up a bit in close quarters. Sergio Martinez should be able to deal with Cotto’s physical strength in a similar manner when fighting on the inside. The only difference is Trout for the majority of the fight did not want to stay in the inside and used his speed and strength to avoid being manhandled by Cotto against the ropes or the corner. Sergio Martinez as discussed earlier does not shy away from exchanges so perhaps Cotto will able to impose his physical strength against Martinez but not to the degree he has been able to do so when fighting weaker fighters.
The Speed and Combinations
Not only will Martinez come into the ring as the bigger man but he will also be the faster man on his feet and his hands. This can be crucial when both fighters are in punching range. Sergio Martinez will be able to unleash his combinations on Miguel Cotto on the center of the ring and will usually beat Cotto to the punch. In order for Cotto to counter this he will have to have a great sense of timing which he normally does in all his fight. Martinez’s bread and butter against Cotto will be the straight left to the body, the right hook, and the straight left upstairs, expect those three punches to land on Cotto throughout the fight.
Miguel Cotto many not necessarily be the faster fighter but has a great boxing IQ. Miguel Cotto will pop his famous stiff jab and occasionally land the right hand because Martinez does have lapses on defense throughout the fight. Miguel Cotto will close the gap with his jab and get in close, once he is on the inside expect him to go downstairs and finish off with a hook upstairs as Martinez tries to get out the way. What makes Martinez a tricky fighter is he can fight going either direction, he can move to his left or his right but a smart veteran fighter like Cotto will look for a way to catch him. The only thing Cotto has to worry about when fighting in the inside is left uppercuts Martinez likes to throw and being outworked. Martinez is a volume puncher and if he can outwork Cotto whether in the inside or the outside he can steal some rounds and find himself winning the fight by decision.
The Power and Chin
Martinez is known to be a power puncher because of the recent knockout wins he has had in his career with Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker both coming in the 11th round but he has not had a notable knockout win of an upper level fighter since the Paul Williams rematch on November 20, 2010. Despite this Sergio Martinez is recognized by many as a strong puncher.
Miguel Cotto has also had some knockout wins later on in his career against Ricardo Mayorga, Yuri Foreman, and Delvin Rodriguez which were all at the 154 pound limit. Miguel Cotto has definitely carried his power as he has moved up in weight but he is no longer considered the devastating knockout puncher he once was in the welterweight divisions. In this fight Cotto will be introduced to a new weight class at 159. It is expected for Cotto to move up in weight just fine and maintain the power he has showed at 154.
Sergio Martinez’s power will probably be a little stronger than Miguel Cotto’s power but not too much of a difference. Since these two fighters are strong punchers the question comes to mind, what about their chins? Miguel Cotto has a decent chin as well as Sergio Martinez but Martinez is more susceptible to being knockdown because of bad feet positioning. He has been knocked down a number of times due to bad balance such as in the Kelly Pavlik fight, the first fight against Paul Williams, the Matthew Macklin fight, and almost got called for a knockdown against Martin Murray in the late rounds.
I believe Cotto is more susceptible to being knocked out because he was stunned against Mayweather and Martinez is a volume puncher who likes to go for the finish when he has his opponent hurt This is why Sergio Martinez has a lot of recent knockouts in his career even if they are not the highest quality of fighters. If he sees the opportunity he will take it but Miguel Cotto is a crafty veteran with underrated defense so a knockout will most likely not occur in the fight.
A knockdown of Sergio Martinez due to bad balance is the more probably scenario to occur. If this happens this can be a devastating blow to Martinez if the fight is close and goes to the scorecards. What Cotto has to worry about is his face swelling up. Miguel Cotto tends to swell up a lot easier than other fighters and with Martinez’s volume punching and speed there is surely to be some visible signs of swelling which may impact how the judge’s score the fight. So both fighters need to be careful.
Health
Sergio Martinez’s health may be the biggest factor of him winning this fight. He is coming off a fractured left hand and open knee surgery from his most recent bout against Martin Murray. This was nothing new to him because prior to the Murray fight he was coming back from knee surgery from the Chavez Jr. fight. In back to back fights he has gone to the hospital for operation in his knee. This time he took a longer rehabilitation period of 14 months to recover for his bout against Miguel Cotto. Martinez claims to be 100% for his fight against Cotto but he also said the same thing right before his bout against Martin Murray and we saw what happened. If Sergio Martinez is not truly 100% he will not win this fight. People wonder how his 39 year old body will react to these nagging injuries. It also does not help that Martinez fights in such a physically demanding style by constantly moving around the ring. Will his knee be 100% for all 12 rounds? Hopefully it does but we will just have to wait and see.
On the contrary Miguel Cotto looked replenished after his most recent bout against Delvin Rodriguez. Even though Rodriguez is not on the same level as Cotto or Martinez, Cotto’s punches seemed very sharp. Miguel Cotto has recently teamed up with Freddie Roach who just recently won trainer of the year. Roach is known to have an offensive approach to boxing this is evident when one examines his stable of fighters. Ruslan Provodkinov, Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., are all offensive minded fighters. Even when Amir Khan was with Roach he was known as an extremeley explosive offensive fighter. The offensive minded Roach should help Cotto sharpen his offensive arsenal in cutting off the ring, going to the body, and finding openings in Martinez’s defenses. Miguel Cotto seems very happy with his new team and ready to fight.
Conclusion
Miguel Cotto vs Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez is a very tough fight for either fighter. Sergio Martinez definitely has all the tools to beat Miguel Cotto but his physical health remains a big question. Will Martinez’s body be able to respond the way he wants it to at age 39? This is probably Miguel’s Cotto best opportunity to make history by becoming the first Puerto Rican fighter to win titles in 4 different weight classes. He seems to be catching Martinez at a very good time. Will Miguel Cotto be able to make history at Madison Square Garden in front of a huge Puerto Rican crowd or will Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez maintain his belt and continue to defend his belt as one of the most celebrated fighters to ever come out of Argentina.
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