Last night, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto took out Argentine Sergio Martinez to capture the WBC Middleweight title. Cotto was the underdog coming into the fight, as Martinez was considered to be too big, strong and fast for him, and Cotto was going up in weight class.
For Cotto, he has captured a major world championship in a fourth weight class, which means his performance last night may have been the one that puts him in the hall of fame. He becomes the first fighter from boxing rich Puerto Rico to win a world title in four weight classes and he did it against a highly skilled opponent.
And Cotto never gave Martinez a chance. Since he was bludgeoned by Antonio Margarito a few years back in one of the decades most controversial fights, there have been open questions about whether Cotto had anything left in the tank or if the wars had caught up to him. But Cotto came out roaring against the bigger Martinez, dropping him 3 times. Martinez was hurt and survived on instinct, and the knee which had been in the news all week leading up to the fight looked to fail him, as he limped back to his corner already a beaten man.
Martinez gamely came out for the second round, and he lasted through the ninth, but by then the outcome of the fight had been decided as Cotto had been dominant wall to wall. Martinez, showing his guts and will to win, argued with his corner to come out in the 10th round, but wiser heads prevailed as the Argentine’s knee was not holding up and he could only win by KO.
For Martinez, it was a return to big time boxing after spending a year away from the ring recovering from knee and elbow ailments. He left it in the ring and has an exciting style, but at 39 years old and after a considerable payday, he may look into calling it quits.
For Cotto, whose Puerto Rican fanbase has always made him a big draw, it re-affirms that he is at or near the top of his game still. Matches with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are all back on the table for Cotto, who was being written off by many prior to this bout with martinez. Not anymore.
