On June 7 Miguel Cotto will fight at middleweight for the first time ever against WBC champion Sergio Martinez in one of the biggest fights of his career. The challenge is daunting for Cotto, as Martinez has crushed many high-level middleweights in his illustrious career, but the Puerto Rican believes the man in the corner is the key.
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"Freddie and Gavin [MacMillan] have given me the opportunity to work well with the weight. I don't see that as an issue at all. I have put that out of my mind. I just work hard and get my work done," Cotto said.
"I feel at 160, I don't need to lose the weight. It's not about gaining the weight, it is about not having to lose the weight, coming down and trying to cut weight. It is important to stay fit and do the things that I need to do and I think that my body recuperates better during training camp because I don't have to lose the weight."
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He went on to tout the game plan Roach has for Cotto to combat Martinez's supreme quickness. After all, Roach has already prepared one fighter, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., to face Maravilla. "Freddie has given us a plan, a strategy to follow and that's what I have been working on in camp. I follow all the orders. Everything he needs from me I follow. All of my faith is with him. I do my best every time I go into training camp and this is no different."
Martinez has been beset by injuries of late. He shredded his knee and broke his hand vs. Chavez Jr., then tore his meniscus against Martin Murray in a 2012 fight in Argentina. Martinez has claimed his knee woes are a thing of the past, and Roach said he and Cotto are preparing as if Sergio is 100 percent.
"We are having a great training camp. Miguel is working really hard and we have great sparring partners, some really awkward southpaws. Everything is right on schedule. Miguel is in great shape and I can't wait for this fight to happen," said Roach. "We are going into the fight thinking Sergio is going to be the best that he can be and that's the way it should be."
Cotto is no stranger to facing speed and he's fared well for the most part. He defeated Zab Judah by TKO and Shane Mosley by unanimous decision in 2007, but was bloodied by Manny Pacquiao in 2012, losing by TKO.
Can Cotto survive the trip up in weight? Tell us what you think @SportsWN
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