WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and challenger Miguel Cotto have begun tossing jabs days before their June 7 showdown [HBO pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET] at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Martinez has expressed feeling disrespected over demands made by Cotto and his handlers during negotiations for the fight.
Despite his champion status, Martinez (51-2-2, 28 knockouts) is playing second fiddle to Cotto. Martinez's name appears below Cotto's on official prefight posters promoting the title bout.
Cotto also will enter the ring second, custom usually reserved for the titleholder. And the title fight will be contested at 159 pound, not the 160-pound middleweight limit.
"We had the same issues when we fought [Julio Cesar] Chávez," Martinez's promoter Lou DiBella said Tuesday. "[Martinez] had to give up his title to fight [Serhiy] Dzinziruk instead of the mandatory and Chávez went on to get the belt in a fight with [Sebastian] Zbik in a fight on the same network that Sergio fought on.
"We have had to overcome a lot of treatment that was inappropriate to a fighter of his stature and he's proven himself time and time again and he going to prove himself again on June 7 in front of sold out Madison Square Garden and a huge pay-per-view audience, so his legacy keeps growing. The people who know give him the respect that he deserves and before he's done that respect will be universal."
Cotto (38-4, 31 KOs) countered on Thursday by dismissing Martinez's claims of disrespect. If the champ has a problem with the way negotiations were conducted he should look inward.
"If Sergio has any kind of issue with anything about this fight he can discuss it with his guy," Cotto said. "We closed the deal a long time ago and now it is time to train and we can't talk about anything else."
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