Sergio Martinez's camp has made it clear their preference for "Maravilla's" next fight is the Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto, and they have a date and venue all lined up.
Sampson Lewkowicz, Martinez's adviser said that "Plan A" is for the Argentine to take on Cotto in April at Madison Square Garden, an interesting choice since MSG has become a home away from home for the Puerto Rican. Cotto had won nine consecutive bouts in the "World's Most Famous Arena" before finally being bested by Austin Trout in 2012.
"Team Martinez is focused on this fight. He would love to fight Cotto, it's good for the fans and for boxing," Lewkowicz said in October. He also intimated that Martinez wants to fight Cotto for reasons beyond a nice payday.
"Martinez feels very insulted that Cotto didn't show him any respect when they met at the ESPN Desportes studios in Mexico City. Martinez has respect for every champion and felt that Cotto showed no respect," Lewkowicz said. "They've never had a conversation but you will see an aggressive Martinez at the press conference, he dislikes him a lot."
Standing in the way of a meeting between Cotto and "Maravilla" for the WBC middleweight title is Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, fresh off a drubbing at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and looking for a big name to re-establish himself at the superstar level.
Alvarez plans on fighting three times in 2014, and taking on Cotto in an entertaining fight could set the stage for a lucrative year. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said in October, "If he [Cotto] wants to make the most money he knows where to go. It's as simple as that. And Cotto is a young and smart guy so I know he's going to make the right decision for himself and his career."
Should Cotto go the Alvarez route, Martinez's teams said they are prepared to take other paths. "There are two or three possibilities," Lewkowicz said. A fight against someone other than Cotto would probably take place on June 7th.
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