Miguel Cotto will enter the ring at Madison Square Garden as a fairly sizable underdog against WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, and for good reason. Cotto has never fought at middleweight, or even the 159-lb. catchweight agreed upon for this bout, while Martinez has dominated the division for years.
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Maravilla is 39 years old, however, and is coming off back-to-back knee tears as well as a broken hand two fights ago. Cotto has been involved in some brutal wars, but Martinez has six years on him and has been down several times himself. Cotto's trainer Freddie Roach believes he has devised a plot to best take advantage of Sergio's issues.
"Sergio is in over his head on this one," Roach said. "We worked on fighting southpaws and have it down to a science now. Miguel will have no trouble with Sergio's style." He also added, "The wear and tear of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight ruined Martinez. Martinez has nothing left. Miguel is the fresher fighter."
While Martinez's fighting style is inimitable, with the high-end hand speed and bizarre punching angles while keeping the hands down throwing many opponents off, Roach believes training Manny Pacquiao helped him figure out the solution for Cotto to achieve victory.
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"Working opposite Miguel with Manny Pacquiao gave me great insight to Miguel's flaws," said Roach. "It taught me his weaknesses and during this camp, I was able to eliminate them."
But can Cotto hurt Martinez? Only time will tell, but Cotto is positive his shots will sting. "Can I carry my power up to 160? I'm a puncher and my power has come with me from 140 to here at 160. I'm not worried about Sergio and what he has done or what he will do," Cotto said.
"I'm only worried about what I need to do and what Freddie has taught me and what we worked on in training camp. The man with the best skills will win this fight."
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