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Why Martinez Must Beat Cotto

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—-Photo credit : Ed Mulholland- Top Rank

He’s the WBC middleweight title holder. He’s conclusively defeated the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in title bouts. Of his two career defeats, only one of them was a legitimate loss. And that occurred 14 years ago when he was stopped by Antonio Margarito in his first fight on American soil. His name is Sergio Martinez 51-2-2 (28) and he defends his WBC middleweight title this weekend against former three division title holder Miguel Cotto 38-4 (31).

Cotto is 1-2 in his last three bouts and his two losses were suffered in junior middleweight title bouts against Austin Trout and Floyd Mayweather. If you go back five years, Miguel is 4-3 in his last seven fights. And by no means are those facts mentioned with the intent of disparaging Cotto. He is one of the most popular and respected fighters today in professional boxing for all the right reasons. He’s fought every top fighter around his weight and never ducked anyone since he turned pro back in early 2001. In addition to that he’s provided the boxing public with action packed and fan friendly bouts every time out. He’s never gloated after a win and never made excuses after a loss.

However, no one is talking about one small thing that just maybe be a driving force behind Sergio Martinez on June 7th, and that’s a little thing called disrespect. Granted, it may only be in his mind, but when that bell rings this Saturday night he’s the only person that feeling disrespected matters to. Of course everyone has noticed that this highly anticipated bout has been billed and promoted as Cotto vs. Martinez.

Yes, Martinez is the champ and is playing second fiddle to a fighter who has never fought as a middleweight before and has lost consecutive junior middleweight title bouts within the past two years. On top of that he was at the mercy of a coin flip regarding his place in the pre-fight ring festivities. This is something not many title holders have been subjected to. Cotto smartly took advantage of his bigger and brighter star power and you and me would’ve done the same thing if we held the leverage over Martinez that he did. The only blow back from that is it can become a motivating factor for the fighter who feels he’s been dissed throughout the promotion. Call it a hunch but I doubt Martinez has ever been this motivated for a fight in his career.

Cotto has participated in and won plenty of big fights during his professional career, versus Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito. He’s also been the B side of the promotion in huge PPV bouts versus Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. In his losing effort against Pacquiao he showed tremendous heart and toughness. He was very competitive against Mayweather and pushed Floyd hard over the 12-rounds they fought despite losing a unanimous decision. Yes, everybody loves and respects Miguel Cotto.

Martinez, on the other hand, has never participated in a mega fight before. Sergio has never had so much attention on him like this prior to a bout. Sure, fighting Paul Williams twice (1-1) along with Pavlik and Chavez were seen on HBO, but they don’t come close to rivaling the attention and notoriety he’ll get after fighting Cotto, win or lose. If Martinez beats Cotto, especially if it’s without controversy, his name will be mentioned as a future opponent for Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Floyd Mayweather. All three fights would be for more money than he’s made his entire career. And yes, if Mayweather sees Martinez as a viable opponent if he beats Cotto, all he has to do is say “Give me Martinez” and you better believe Showtime and HBO will not stand in the way. If Floyd wants to challenge for the middleweight title, and we know that he does, the cable networks will find a way to come together. They did for Lewis-Tyson and they’ll do it for Mayweather-Martinez, provided that’s the fight Floyd wants. If you don’t know by now that it all depends on Floyd, you haven’t been paying close attention.

In all honesty, Martinez has to beat Cotto. Sergio has had a stellar career. But in reality he hasn’t faced a murderers row fighting as a middleweight. And that’s not his fault. The same can be said for Gennady Golovkin. Both Martinez and Golovkin are trapped in a division that right now is very pedestrian. Other than facing each other or maybe Chavez, there’s nobody for them to fight that would stimulate public interest. In order for them to partake in a mega fight they have to go outside of their division. And that’s another reason why it’s a must win fight for Martinez.

Sergio hasn’t reaped the rewards or the mega millions that can accompany a career like the one he’s carved out. Also, there are some observers, myself included, who really aren’t sure how terrific he is. He’s a tremendous athlete, but I think his style bothers most of his opponents more than anything else. His southpaw stance and ability to move and throw unorthodox and awkward punches is the thing that most befuddles his opponents. That aside, you can’t argue with his record. But if he loses to Cotto, that will probably end his career as far as being in the running for the few multimillion dollar mega fights that are out there for him right now even at age 39.

Martinez hasn’t fought in over a year because of injuries. There’s no question about it that his body is breaking down. Health is a huge issue regarding his future as a championship worthy fighter. That said, he should be healthy and strong for Miguel Cotto on June 7th. This is the signature fight of Martinez’s career and he has to win it. There’s no way he can lose to the guy who was stopped by Manny Pacquiao and lost one sided decisions to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout if he hopes to define his legacy and fight for millions of dollars again in his next bout.

Professional boxing is a cruel and lonely world for a fighter and it’s is usually not fair. And that’s even more the reason why Martinez must beat Cotto. He can’t go down and be remembered as the fighter who won a few middleweight title fights but lost his belt to a fighter who used to be the junior welterweight title holder, who lost his title to the fighter who used to be the featherweight champ.

Martinez is very mentally tough and I think he’s got tons of pride. Cotto’s career can withstand losing to Martinez, but the same cannot be said about Martinez if he loses to Cotto. Beating Miguel Cotto is an absolute must for Sergio Martinez.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

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In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.

The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.

Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.

The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.

That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.

The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)

Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)

Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.

Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).

Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.

The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.

Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.

Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.

We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”

The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.

Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.

Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.

There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France,  Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.

It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed,  it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.

Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.

At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Steven Navarro is the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year

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“I get ‘Bam’ vibes when I watch this kid,” said ESPN ringside commentator Tim Bradley during the opening round of Steven Navarro’s most recent match. Bradley was referencing WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, a precociously brilliant technician whose name now appears on most pound-for-pound lists.

There are some common threads between Steven Navarro, the latest fighter to adopt the nickname “Kid Dynamite,” and Bam Rodriguez. Both are southpaws currently competing in the junior bantamweight division. But, of course, Bradley was alluding to something more when he made the comparison. And Navarro’s showing bore witness that Bradley was on to something.

It was the fifth pro fight for Navarro who was matched against a Puerto Rican with a 7-1 ledger. He ended the contest in the second frame, scoring three knockdowns, each the result of a different combination of punches, forcing the referee to stop it. It was the fourth win inside the distance for the 20-year-old phenom.

Isaias Estevan “Steven” Navarro turned pro after coming up short in last December’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Lafayette, Louisiana. The #1 seed in the 57 kg (featherweight) division, he was upset in the finals, losing a controversial split decision. Heading in, Navarro had won 13 national tournaments beginning at age 12.

A graduate of LA’s historic Fairfax High School, Steven made his pro debut this past April on a Matchroom Promotions card at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and then inked a long-term deal with Top Rank. He comes from a boxing family. His father Refugio had 10 pro fights and three of Refugio’s cousins were boxers, most notably Jose Navarro who represented the USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was a four-time world title challenger as a super flyweight. Jose was managed by Oscar De La Hoya for much of his pro career.

Nowadays, the line between a prospect and a rising contender has been blurred. Three years ago, in an effort to make matters less muddled, we operationally defined a prospect thusly: “A boxer with no more than a dozen fights, none yet of the 10-round variety.” To our way of thinking, a prospect by nature is still in the preliminary-bout phase of his career.

We may loosen these parameters in the future. For one thing, it eliminates a lot of talented female boxers who, like their Japanese male counterparts in the smallest weight classes, are often pushed into title fights when, from a historical perspective, they are just getting started.

But for the time being, we will adhere to our operational definition. And within the window that we have created, Steven Navarro stood out. In his first year as a pro, “Kid Dynamite” left us yearning to see more of him.

Honorable mention: Australian heavyweight Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs)

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