By Franklin McNeil
NEW YORK - Size: check. Weight: check. Height: check. Reach: check. Punching power? That's still in question. But you get the point. WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will step in the ring Saturday night with the advantage in several key categories.
Martinez has so many advantages, on paper at least, that Las Vegas-based odds maker Bovada has installed him as a heavy favorite at minus-225; Cotto is a plus-175 underdog.
Despite the odds, Cotto and his handlers have no intention of rolling over. In fact Cotto's trainer Freddie Roach believes his guy has the exact tools to make this fight a living hell for Martinez.
Since joining forces with Roach, Cotto has revised his approach to fighting. He's kicked the habit of going toe-to-toe, exchanging punches with anyone brave enough to stand in front of him.
These days Cotto utilizes all of his natural skills. He's no longer stationary and mixes up his punches very well. If Roach says, 'go to the body,' Cotto does just that. If Roach calls for a jab to the chin or chest, Cotto obliges. When Roach instructs him to circle left or right, Cotto doesn't give it a second thought and immediately goes into action.
When speaking about the new Cotto, Roach becomes giddy. A huge smile crosses his face as thoughts of what took place during training camp for this fight surface.
Roach is sure that Cotto will exhibit the same qualities - lateral movement, accurate punching and constant head/shoulder work - against Martinez that he demonstrated in camp.
"He's very disciplined. His work ethic is great, but his discipline of terrific," Roach told SportsWorldNews.com. "He did everything correctly, like following through with the left hook.
"He really learned to throw his whole body into that punch rather then using his arm. That was a pretty strong punch for an arm punch, but when he puts his body behind it, it's terrific."
But technique alone won't be enough to get the job done against Martinez. Roach expects a combination of a solid fight plan and Cotto's discipline to be the difference.
Cotto, a highly rated boxer during his days as an amateur, is expected to be the better boxer in the ring at Madison Square Garden.
"It's all about ring generalship," Roach said. "He put himself on the ropes too many times in previous fights.
"I told him, 'if you put yourself on the ropes for a reason then I can live with that. But if you're going to the ropes just to hang out, that's the wrong place to be.'
"Staying off the ropes is the key to this fight. That's how we win this fight, by out-boxing this guy, plain and simple. It comes down to who's the better boxer."
The pick here is Martinez by late stoppage. But all bets are off if Cotto remains disciplined and sticks to Roach's fight plan. Then it's Cotto by decision and a new WBC middleweight champion.
Each fighter easily made weight for the agreed-upon 159-pound bout. Martinez checked in at 158 3/4 pounds, while Cotto, a former titleholder at junior middleweight, welterweight and junior welterweight, registered a lean 155.
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