Martinez, who turned 39 this year, is looking to return to form following an indifferent performance against Martin Murray over a year ago and believes Cotto accepted the fight on the back of his previous effort.
Prior to the Murray encounter, Martinez totally dominated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr barring a final round scare and wants to show Cotto that he has plenty more to offer despite his advancing years.
“Miguel Cotto believes that I am ripe for the picking and that my age has finally caught with me,” said Martinez
“What he doesn’t realize is that for the Martin Murray fight, I had many injuries going into the fight. I did not want to postpone the event because it was always a dream of mine to defend my title in Argentina so we as a team decided to go forward with the fight with Martin Murray. I still came out victorious in that fight but Miguel Cotto thinks I’m on the decline, which is the only reason I believe he chose to face me now.
“What Miguel Cotto doesn’t realize that is I am extremely motivated for this fight. Not just because I don’t necessarily care for Miguel Cotto, but I want to prove him wrong in thinking that I’m not an elite fighter.”
‘Maravilla’ is even going as far a to predict a stoppage in the contest as Cotto is yet again moving up in weight after himself going through a tough patch in his career. Cotto’s apparent decline has resulted in two losses from his last three bouts and ‘Junito’ will also have to show the he too still belongs in the world-class bracket.
“Miguel Cotto is a good fighter and a future hall of famer, but he will not become the World Middleweight Champion by defeating me. The only way I see this fight ending, is with Miguel Cotto being knocked out. I cannot see the fight going past nine rounds,” he predicted.
“2 Days: Sergio Martinez” premieres Saturday, May 24 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning series “24/7 Cotto/Martinez” premieres Saturday, May 31 at 11:15 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Cotto vs. Martinez happens Saturday, June 7 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Cotto v Martinez from Madison Square Garden is live on BoxNation in the UK on June 7. To subscribe visit BoxNation
