As June 7 draws near, Argentine middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is continuing his verbal assault on the stoic Miguel Cotto leading up to their Madison Square Garden showdown. Cotto is looking for a historic fourth title in as many weight divisions; achieving that would make him the first Puerto Rican-born fighter to do so.
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Martinez throughout the promotion has felt disrespected by Cotto, one of boxing's superstars, and has vowed to knock him out for underestimating him. "Miguel Cotto believes that I am ripe for the picking and that my age has finally caught with me," Martinez said, noting that injuries hindered him in his most recent fight.
"What he doesn't realize is that for the Martin Murray fight, I had many injuries going into the fight. I did not want to postpone the event because it was always a dream of mine to defend my title in Argentina so we as a team decided to go forward with the fight with Martin Murray. I still came out victorious in that fight but Miguel Cotto thinks I'm on the decline, which is the only reason I believe he chose to face me now."
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Cotto took his time deciding between facing Martinez or Canelo Alvarez, ultimately landing on Sergio because he wanted to chase the fourth belt, and because Sergio's closer to the end of his rope than Alvarez. Martinez took it another way, obviously, and because of that is gunning for a knockout.
"Miguel Cotto is a good fighter and a future hall of famer, but he will not become the World Middleweight Champion by defeating me. The only way I see this fight ending, is with Miguel Cotto being knocked out. I cannot see the fight going past nine rounds."
Cotto hasn't responded to much of Martinez's banter, leaving the trash talk to his trainer Freddie Roach. The first time Martinez brought up a knockout by Round 9, roach countered by saying Cotto would stop Sergio in eight.
Can Sergio really KO Miguel Cotto? Let us know @SportsWN
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