Miguel Cotto vs Sergio Martinez News: Cotto Says 'Maravilla' Picked the Wrong Fight
- Paul John Rivera
- Apr 12, 2014 02:34 PM EDT
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Miguel Cotto recently expressed confidence about his chances in his upcoming title fight against Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez on June 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In an interview with BoxingScene on Saturday, Cotto said that Martinez picked the wrong fight, and added that the Argentinian is still struggling to regain his confidence after being sidelined by a serious knee injury.
"For this fight, Martinez doesn't believe in himself, [doesn't believe in] his skills, [doesn't believe] that he can heal his injuries. He picked the wrong fight," Cotto said.
Martinez, who will put his World Boxing Council middleweight title on the line, has not fought since scoring a unanimous decision win over Martin Murray in his first title defense in April last year.
The 39-year-old Argentinian underwent right knee surgery followed by a lengthy rehabilitation period. Martinez recently said that Cotto has been evading him for years, but decided to face him in June because of his injury.
"I actually believe that my injuries, and because of the things that have happened to me [in my recent fights], is the reason why Miguel Cotto wants to fight me now. Cotto thinks now is the opportunity and this is why he's fighting me," Martinez said.
When asked about Martinez's accusation, Cotto said that he decided to face Martinez because the reigning middleweight champion is his best option at this point of his career.
"Martinez is a great boxer and he earned everything he got. We are going to work the best we can and win on June 7. He was the best name at this moment for my career," Cotto said.
Cotto added that Martinez's WBC middleweight title was also one of the factors he considered when he made the decision to face "Maravilla" as he was aiming to become the first Puerto Rican to win four world titles in as many divisions.
"The main attraction for me is to be the first Puerto Rican to be a world champion in four different divisions. That means a lot to me. Working with [trainer] Freddie [Roach], who already worked against Martinez with Chavez Jr., I know that he has the right strategy for beating him," Cotto said.
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