The future implications of Cotto-Martinez

By Boxing News - 05/30/2014 - Comments

cotto56678By Diarmuid Sherry: On the 7th June, Miguel Cotto challenges Sergio Martinez for the right to be the Middleweight Champion, and with it the distinction of being the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in 4 different divisions. Whatever happens, and whoever wins, this fight is good for boxing, however there is massive potential for money-spinning future fights depending on the winner of this fight.

Miguel Cotto is the most marketable free agent there is in the sport today. He has no ties to promotional or television companies so therefore can work on what is best for his career without a hindrance. Cotto turned downed a guaranteed $10 million to face Canelo Alvarez in March, to instead face Martinez for less money, but for the chance of achieving a historic feat.

If Cotto were to beat Martinez his profitability would rise massively. HBO would certainly want to televise him again, maybe in a possible rematch with Martinez, or the unlikely chance that Cotto would face the fearsome Gennady Golovkin, but at this stage of Cotto’s career, Golovkin doesn’t represent value great risk/return value. Instead HBO could throw a wildcard option, in what definitely would be a huge money spinner, and offer Cotto a contest with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., that is if Chavez Jr. is disciplined enough to reach middleweight cut-off point.

Showtime would probably be Cotto’s television business dealing of choice if he were to win. The $10 million Cotto was offered to face Alvarez would likely be doubled if Cotto was to bring the lineal Middleweight championship to the negotiation table. Floyd Mayweather may even be tempted to offer Cotto a shed-load of cash to face him in September, to allow Mayweather to assert his legendary status further and allow him the opportunity to win another world title in another weight division, especially against a man in Cotto whom Floyd has already beaten, and is not a man much bigger than he is.

A Cotto win could also open doors for the WBO titlist, Peter Quilin, a boxer who has seen his career somewhat stagnate due to the promotional Cold War, and because of the fact that most of the top Middleweight contenders are contracted to HBO and not Showtime, although a Cotto-Quilin showdown is unlikely.

If Martinez were to beat Cotto, the Argentine would have less options, indeed despite the fact that Martinez has hinted that he wishes to fight on, age and injury worries may halt any future aspirations.

Although Martinez is respected as a great Middleweight champion, with impressive wins against the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, the only name of mainstream relevance on Martinez’s resume is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and with Chavez Jr. the ‘name’ is emphasized more than the boxing pedigree. Therefore, a victory against Cotto would likely represent the high point of ‘Maravilla’s’ career, and the opportunities to partake in fights of similar prestige would be few and far between.

This is because of the fact that Martinez is contracted to HBO, the only pairing that the television executives would want is Martinez vs. Golovkin, something Martinez hasn’t really considered recently. Meanwhile the WBC seem pre-occupied with matching the winner against the experienced but limited Mexican, Marco Antonio Rubio. Martinez as a small middleweight will also certainly not be moving up to 168lbs to chase lucrative matches in the Super Middleweight division. Indeed, unless the contest next Saturday against Cotto is such a barnstormer, or so controversial that only a rematch would do, Martinez may consider giving his aging body some rest and think that hanging up the gloves is the best option.

Either way, it is contests like Cotto-Martinez that boxing fans live for, and continues on a great fortnight for boxing, after the all-British domestic grudge match at Wembley Stadium between Carl Froch and George Groves. What boxing fans want to see most is great fighters like these facing each other to hopefully produce great and memorable fights. One c



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