Roach: Cotto can KO Sergio Martinez by concentrating on his body

By Boxing News - 05/11/2014 - Comments

roach67By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Freddie Roach believes that his fighter Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KO’s) will be able to score a knockout next month by going to the body in his title shot against WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KO’s) Madison Square Garden in New York. Roach thinks that Cotto’s body punching will sap the strength out of the 39-year-old Sergio and ultimately lead to a stoppage victory for him.

Roach doesn’t say how Cotto will be able to get near enough to land his big shots with Martinez constantly moving in circles for 12 rounds, but Roach still sees Cotto getting to Sergio at some point to take him out with a big body shot.

“Martinez is fast but like all opponents, he can be dismantled,” Roach said. “If Miguel is concentrating on the body, and removes his legs, we’re going to take advantage and knock him out.”

It sounds more like wishful thinking on Roach’s part to be expecting to score a stoppage on a body shot. That kind of thing may work against the Delvin Rodriguez type of opponents, but Sergio is a champion and he’s not a fringe contender. Roach should be focusing on getting Cotto to use his jab more, and get him to cut off the ring. He’s going to need to be able to cut off the ring on June 7th, because Sergio will be moving in wide circles for 12 rounds and boxing him silly.

Sergio will use the same game plan that he used to beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2012 by focusing on an in and out attack. He knows it would be too damaging to stand directly in front of Cotto, although Sergio would still have a very good chance of beating Cotto down and scoring a knockout just by going directly at him the way Antonio Margarito did in his two fights. Cotto has taken so much punishment during his career that he’s someone that can fold if he gets steady pressure put on him. Sergio probably won’t do that though, but he’ll still likely be very effective by using movement to get the job done.

There’s a safety net for Cotto if he loses this fight, because Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions says he’ll still be interested in letting Cotto get a shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez even if he loses his fight against Sergio.



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