Cotto vs. Martinez

(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) By Allan Fox: Sampson Lewkowicz, says that former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) won’t be making a decision on whether he’ll be retiring or not for at least three months. Martinez needs time to think about his future and it’s going to take him a considerable amount of time to make a concrete decision.

Martinez, 39, was thrashed by Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) in a surprise upset loss to the much smaller Puerto Rican fighter at MSG in New York. The loss was a devastating one for Martinez’s career, because it was a fight that wasn’t close at all, even from the start. Cotto had Martinez on the deck three times in the opening round, and he continued to pummel him in the other rounds as well.

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By Chester Rivers: There’s a saying in boxing that every great fighter has at least one great fight left in them. This was evident when Shane Mosley blasted a red hot Antonio Margarito, George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer, Bernard Hopkins shuts out Kelly Pavlik and last night when Miguel Cotto dominates Sergio Martinez.

The underlying question coming into last night was “which of these two past their prime fighters would look the oldest?” That question was answered almost immediately by Martinez. Sergio didn’t have the familiar bounce in his step or shoulders. The spry smile that he normally displays was absent replaced with the tension and stress that comes with age.

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By Bob Smith: My first reaction to the Martinez-Cotto fight, like many others is: wow! How could Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) be so dominant? How could he knock down WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) three times in the first round, when Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could not do this in 11 rounds? Why was it that Martinez was not able to hurt Cotto significantly even once? And what was behind that massive left hook early in the first round that sent Martinez flying, from which he never fully recovered, in that round or after it?

I think first and before anything, we have to give Cotto his due. This version of Cotto would have defeated Martinez if he had fought Martinez at the time of Matthew Macklin and Darrin Barker. It would not have been a blow out, and he would not have gotten four knockdowns, but this version of Cotto would have caused Martinez enough problems to control the action.

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By Allan Fox: Pablo Sarmiento, the trainer for Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s), says that Martinez’s surgically repaired right knee was unstable from the first round of the fight, and that he had eventually had to stop the fight because he wasn’t moving and reacting well when taking head shots from Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) last night at MSG, in New York. Sarmiento feels that it was his duty to step in and protect his fighter rather than let him get pounded on by the 33-year-old Cotto.

“He never recovered from the first round, and I did what I had to do” – Pablo Sarmiento said after the fight. “He was unstable and not responding. That’s why I stopped the fight. He was hurt badly in the first round and he never got better. He was unsteady in the fight.”

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By Eric Johnson: Last night we witnessed history, but last night we also witnessed a man getting his just due. For the last 6 years of his career, it’d always seemed like Miguel Cotto got the short end of the stick. It seemed as if he could never get over the hump, and that the boxing Gods had some deeply embedded vendetta against him.

There was a time when the name Miguel Cotto provoked fear into opposing fighters, and excitement to anyone who had the pleasure of watching him. As a fighter and as a man Miguel Cotto has come full circle. He’s climbed out of the metaphorical pit he was kicked into “300” style some years ago. I don’t know if he’s back, but we should all be elated for his victory, let me tell you why.

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(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Dan Ambrose: Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) expected to be able to beat the 39-year-old Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) to take his WBC 160-pound title last night, as he firmly believed that the game plan that his head trainer Freddie Roach had laid out for him would be more than good enough to lead him to victory over the aging and less than 100% Martinez.

Cotto didn’t realize how easy it was going to be, as he didn’t foresee himself putting Martinez down on the canvas three times in the 1st round and four times in the fight. Cotto thought it would still be a tough fight where he would have to work hard for the victory. What he found instead was that Martinez didn’t have the leg strength under him in order to get the victory, and make a good fight of it.

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(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By John Kelvin: Former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) only started boxing when he was 20 years old and had to fight 45 times before he got the chance to box for a world title. He won the title by beating the real lineal champion at 160bs when he defeated Kelly Pavlik in 2010 and defended it 6 times.

During his reign he took on all comers despite being ridiculously stripped of the WBC belt so that Julio Cesar Chavez Junior could be gifted a world title.  Martinez could have had even more defenses and big fights if his body didn’t start to break down in the last 2 years mostly due a knee problem which required 3 surgeries.

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By Rocky Esposito: Miguel Cotto (39-4 / 32 KOs) defied the Las Vegas odd-makers, many skeptics, and Boxing history alike last night by putting on a dominating, one-sided performance vs Sergio Martinez (51-3 / 28KOs). Cotto is now the new “WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight Champion of the World”, all via a 10th Round TKO. Cotto also is now the first Puerto Rican in Boxing history to win a World Title in four different weight divisions.

Miguel started the fight off on fire, scoring three knock-downs in the 1st Round alone. Sergio (to his credit), was able to survive the 1st Round onslaught and make it out of the round. However, Sergio was never able to fully recover throughout the course of the fight.

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By Eric Thomas: Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) took an embarrassing beating tonight in getting annihilated in 10 rounds by the younger, stronger and much healthier Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) in a fight that suggests that it might be time for the 39-year-old Martinez to step away from the sport and retire. Martinez’s trainer Pablo Sarmiento said at the post fight press conference “No decision has been made if Martinez should retire.”

Both of Martinez’s surgically repaired knees looked weak and wobbly even before the action started. The fact that Martinez’s knees still weren’t strong looking after more than a year of physical rehab on them, then it’s probably a good indication that he might need to retire. It’s hard to imagine Martinez getting trounced the way he did tonight if both of his knees were healthy like they were in his fight against Matthew Macklin in 2012.

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By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: It’s human nature. We make our predictions based on what advantages a fighter has and pick a winner. Moments after Miguel Cotto’s history making victory over Sergio Martinez, comments filled up the blogs quicker than water in a sinking boat. The focus? Sergio’s injuries and weak knees. Days before the fight, Sergio mentioned that Cotto was only fighting him because of his injuries. In my opinion, he was building an excuse for himself right there.

Boxing is more psychological than physical strength. When both fighters are equal across the board, it then becomes who executes their game plan. But I have a few questions for those who are trying to discredit Cotto’s victory. First question; Did anyone force Sergio to take this fight? The answer is a resounding no. Was Sergio aware of his injuries prior this fight? Yes. Did Martinez agree to all the terms of the fight and then sign the dotted line? Most definitely.

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