Martinez vs Cotto

This fight looks set to have a catchweight of 159lbs.

Seriously, just what's the point?

hampo171 wrote:This fight looks set to have a catchweight of 159lbs.

Seriously, just what's the point?

Maybe for promotional reasons to make the fight seem fairer to the paying fan.

Martinez could probably make 154 if he really really had to.

Should be an interesting fight anyway.

Catchweight is here to stay...........

I think it's an interesting fight...........I'll be watching.......

Cotto definitely becomes great should he win...........Not much in it for Martinez though.......legacy wise.

Can't believe some people are all for this yet jump on Mayweather for fighting the likes of Khan...or moan about Golovkin fighting patsies etc.

So many times I hear people moaning about the best never fighting the best...or boxers not going out and securing a proper legacy by beating opponents in the same weight class or indeed clearing out divisions...

Then when we have two guys who could legitimately serve up a thrilling contest...which would be bought by many a people and would a) decide who the best in the division is b) go a long way to defining someone's career...what do people do...

Lap up a catchweight contest between Martinez & Cotto. Pretty sad really.

Can we get some perspective here...this is a guy who has by the time the fight takes place...won once in the last 2 & half years....whose best weight was Welterweight..and who has lost more of his 'big fights' than he has won...

Lost - Mayweather
Lost - Pacquiao
Lost - Trout

His top wins were Judah & Mosley almost 7 years ago....

I get the fact he is a crowd pleaser...pushes his opponents (he had a decent showing against Mayweather)...but this fight is just a waste for me.

The one thing I always hear people saying is how there are no rising stars in boxing who can go on and take the mantle of your Mayweather and Manny's..yet how are we supposed to get these if guys don't get the chance to take that mantle.

The only fight I want to see Martinez in is against Golovkin...I think with this fight the chance has gone. If Martinez wins then I think he retires on a great pay day...if he loses then the GGG match up becomes 'meh'.

Then 2 years down the line people will be moaning that Golovkin has never beat anyone of note...forgetting that it's not his fault.

It's a money fight for them to bow out on, something the pair have more than deserved, rightly or wrongly this fight will receive more attention than other either could have.

159lbs hardly makes much difference to Martinez, as he's a pretty small middleweight and I don't think he's ever over 158lbs at weigh in. 

As for the fight, Cotto's best was at 140lbs. He was average at 147lbs and pretty rubbish at 154lbs. 

If Martinez can still move around, he'll pick Cotto apart rather easily. 

I'd expect Cotto to quit on the stool after the 10th round.

Peak for peak Martinez is a better fighter than Cotto and as has been previously pointed out there is a weight class or two between them.

This fight is not about greatness but about how much two Hall of Famers have faded.  Martinez's performances have fallen off a cliff recently so the selling point is obvious.  Two pay per view stars means the fight has a ready audience.  It could be an epic given Cotto is involved. Who can dig in more to extract the last of their fading talents is the intrigue, the fact it is arguably the two most popular fan favourites of the last decade adds to the fascination. It could be a mismatch but I don't think so.

Golovkin decapitates Martinez at this stage anyway and Sergio knows it.

Cotto gets knocked senseless

Izzi wrote:Cotto gets knocked senseless

If Martinez went life and death with Martin Murray I think Cotto, who recently gave Mayweather his best test in years, won't be over run. It's all about how much Sergio has lost it, his style requires athleticism and speed which he no longer has.

luckily for cotto hes such a big draw. he certainly hasnt earned his big fights over the past couple of years. expect he quits after getting beat up in this one, then fights a couple of guys with padded records, then before you know it hes back with another big fight. He should retire with the money hes earned, but when theres always big offers available, its hard for him to say no.

Lance wrote:luckily for cotto hes such a big draw. he certainly hasnt earned his big fights over the past couple of years. expect he quits after getting beat up in this one, then fights a couple of guys with padded records, then before you know it hes back with another big fight. He should retire with the money hes earned, but when theres always big offers available, its hard for him to say no.

Cotto is the third biggest PPV over the past decade, only Floyd and Manny have better numbers.

Being Puerto Rican isn't the biggest reason for this, Cotto hasn't been in a bad fight that I can remember.

Hopefully Martinez looks the part and there is a strong shout for a Mayweather fight. I can see that fight being made after the outcry of criticism of the Khan fight that's expected to be announced. Remember ShoTime pushed the Canelo fight after the Guerrero numbers came through.

Hopefully Mayweather vs Khan pans at the box office and the network insists on Martinez (should he beat Cotto)

Strongback wrote:

Izzi wrote:Cotto gets knocked senseless

If Martinez went life and death with Martin Murray I think Cotto, who recently gave Mayweather his best test in years, won't be over run.  It's all about how much Sergio has lost it, his style requires athleticism and speed which he no longer has.

Stylistically all wrong for Cotto, being a leftie the main one, walks on to a Martinez left hand that he may have to spend 5 rounds trying to time it but it will eventually land.

If someone like Trout, who is an ok but not exactly elite fighter, gives Cotto fits then am pretty sure Martinez against a naturally smaller man beats him fairly easily.

Let's not forget that Cotto has lost every major fight he's been in for how many years now?

Izzi wrote:

Strongback wrote:

Izzi wrote:Cotto gets knocked senseless

If Martinez went life and death with Martin Murray I think Cotto, who recently gave Mayweather his best test in years, won't be over run.  It's all about how much Sergio has lost it, his style requires athleticism and speed which he no longer has.

Stylistically all wrong for Cotto, being a leftie the main one, walks on to a Martinez left hand that he may have to spend 5 rounds trying to time it but it will eventually land.

If someone like Trout, who is an ok but not exactly elite fighter, gives Cotto fits then am pretty sure Martinez against a naturally smaller man beats him fairly easily.

Let's not forget that Cotto has lost every major fight he's been in for how many years now?

Cotto has lost but he always makes a fight exciting. Even if they were the same size a peak Martinez is a better fighter than a peak Cotto. The fight is only really interesting because Martinez has faded a lot.

Cotto can absorb a lot of punishment and keep coming forward with good infighting and bodywork. Martinez had the power to one punch Cotto but I'm not sure if he has that anymore.

Strongback wrote:

Izzi wrote:

Strongback wrote:

Izzi wrote:Cotto gets knocked senseless

If Martinez went life and death with Martin Murray I think Cotto, who recently gave Mayweather his best test in years, won't be over run.  It's all about how much Sergio has lost it, his style requires athleticism and speed which he no longer has.

Stylistically all wrong for Cotto, being a leftie the main one, walks on to a Martinez left hand that he may have to spend 5 rounds trying to time it but it will eventually land.

If someone like Trout, who is an ok but not exactly elite fighter, gives Cotto fits then am pretty sure Martinez against a naturally smaller man beats him fairly easily.

Let's not forget that Cotto has lost every major fight he's been in for how many years now?

Cotto has lost but he always makes a fight exciting.  Even if they were the same size a peak Martinez is a better fighter than a peak Cotto.  The fight is only really interesting because Martinez has faded a lot.

Cotto can absorb a lot of punishment and keep coming forward with good infighting and bodywork. Martinez had the power to one punch Cotto but I'm not sure if he has that anymore.

Agreed Cotto has always been entertaining, just feel that whilst Martinez had undoubtably slipped it's also a case of how much Cotto has left in the tank. Add in its at a weight he's never fought at before and I'm with Martinez.

Feel he may have lost a yard due to motivation reasons - headlining a massive PPV could make both men lift their games.. And it would take Cotto doing something a bit special to beat Martinez in my eyes.

Should be a cracking fight though

Cotto is only 5ft7 he'll struggle to get close enough to sergio and will be picked apart from the outside

Yes Sergio has declined a lot and didn't look great against murray but murray is 6ft and a big strong middeweight with no shopwear on his body unlike cotto who's had lots of wars and isn't a natural LMW let alone MW

See Cotto starting wel but getting beaten up and worn down as sergio keeps him at arms length to a LKO. Hope sergio goes after GGG but I'd doubt it given they know GGG is too much for him atm

As others have said, what is the point in it?

Detest catchweights but this has zero meaning.

I see Cotto being slow and sluggish with another 7ibs on him and even a faded Sergio being too cute for him.

If I was Cotto I would stay around 154 to not sacrifice some mobility and speed.

I'm having a hard time getting excited for this one, but don't blame Cotto for having a go. This isn't a pension builder or retirement kitty fight at all; he's been in there with bigger names than Sergio. Cotto has been behind only Floyd and Manny in terms of being a PPV attraction in the States in recent years - and he's already fought the pair of them on PPV.

It's a pure money fight for Martinez, but Cotto has something big to gain in terms of legacy should he win.

That said, I'd be surprised if he can pull this one off. I think he'll get stopped late; Cotto has a tendency to fall apart as a fight wears on, whereas Martinez (that horror moment against Chavez Jr aside) generally is in control of a fight in the championship rounds. Even against Murray, where he looked poor for the most part, he was the stronger man in the last couple of rounds.

Martinez's reflexes look to be on a bit of a downward spiral but even then I just don't think Cotto has enough strength and power at 159 (which is stupid, by the way!) to get to Martinez's body with any regularity, which is what he'd have to do.

I think Cotto's pressure will be enough to keep Martinez moving and looking to score at range with counters early on, and during those stages the fight might be relatively close, but after softening Cotto up I can see Sergio upping the tempo late on, Cotto going in to backwards survival mode as he often does and eventually getting stopped on his feet under (another) long barrage of unanswered shots.