The tension between middleweights Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez is on a steady simmer, and will reach its boiling point on Saturday night as the duo fight for Martinez's current world title at Madison Square Garden. The match will be aired live on 9 p.m. ET.
During the match's promotion stage and build-up for a huge pay per view boxing event, the two rivals and their corresponding camps put up their powerful verbal dukes in hopes of intimidating the other. For the most part, the trash-talking is all part of the show with its undercurrent of respect.
Martinez is the current title holder, but Cotto is drawing the fans to Madison Square Garden and is sealing the pay per view deal with HBO. The latter demanded that he wanted his name to be first on the marquee. Martinez is not so happy with this "request" and begrudgingly agreed, but called Cotto a "diva".
Martinez (51-2-2, 28 Kos has a 6-inch reach and 3-inch height advantage over Cotto (38-4 31KOs), with the former being a natural southpaw middleweight. The pair agreed to a match at a catch weight of 159 pounds.
During the weigh-in Friday, Martinez, appearing far bigger than Cotto, weighed in at 158.8 pounds and Cotto only at 155 pounds. At the faceoff, Martinez leans towards the smaller Cotto with a menacing look on his face.
Martinez had had two knee surgeries over the years, being a former soccer player and mountain cyclist. This particular medical history is not reflected during his fights, as he nimbly moves around the ring, with his foot speed as one of his strongest suits. Although his age has never been a factor, this match with Cotto will put his mobility to the test, and is actually one of the biggest questions in this fight.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
