Cotto-Martinez HBO 24/7 Recap

HBO debuted their Cotto-Martinez 24/7 right after the Froch-Groves rematch finished.

We saw the Puerto Rican vet Miguel Cotto prepping for a workout and the Argentine ex-GQ-model-looking stylist Sergio Martinez readying for a gym session.

Cotto heads to the Wild Card, and Freddie Roach greets the boxer who he started working with last year. Miguel had lost two straight, but got cooking under Roach, who isn’t afraid to critique.

Miguel says that Roach was right when he stated that Cotto ran his camp, and wasn’t shrugging off bad habits. The left to the body wasn’t present much in his arsenal, for some reason, and Roach is working to bring that back.

Freddie says Miguel has a happy game face on now, and gets along well with his almost sons, Liam Vaughan and Marvin Samodio.

We saw video of Cotto blasting out Delvin Rodriguez, and then Cotto working the bag. Cotto says that he sort of wishes he’d been with Roach earlier, and he hopes to finish with Dedham Freddie.

Meanwhile, in Wynwood, Miami, Sergio is training at Matt Baiamonte’s boxing gym. Sergio has been off more than a year, dealing with injuries, and he says that he thinks Cotto only took this fight after seeing the older man look so-so versus Martin Murray.

In a driving rain in Argentina, with an ailing left shoulder and right knee, the man who needs to be mobile and loose wasn’t near his best. He knew he couldn’t cancel…and he made the best of his body. His left hand was busted in round two, to make matters worse. Down he went in round eight, a right straight on the button. “Murray either couldn’t or didn’t know how or didn’t want to win,” he said. He insists he feels healthier now, that he has his injuries under control.

Back in Vegas, Freddie lands in Vegas, and he heads to the Boxing Writers Association of America Dinner. He says the award, as Trainer of the Year, means a lot to him, because it is named after mentor Eddie Futch. We see footage of the dinner and Fred’s mom Barbara grinning. Brother Allen says he’s so happy for his bro. Fred Sternburg introes Roach, the “world famous” ambassador, and Freddie gives a shoutout to family present. He shakes hand with Mike Tyson, and exits with trophy in hand.

Sergio says he couldn’t walk after the Murray fight, and he was on crutches for seven months. He didn’t know if he would walk the same, but his desire to compete and attain glory supersedes his distaste for pain. Trainer Pablo Sarmiento oversees Sergio’s workouts, and he watches Cotto in action, on tape. “Cotto’s going to get hurt,” the trainer says. He says he doesn’t know how much Roach can teach or change Cotto. “The advantage is ours,” he says.

Next, we see Cotto working out, and he says he likes strength and conditioning Gavin Macmillan, and Macmillan says he likes him. He makes a joke about the immensity of Cotto’s package and has a good chuckle.

Cotto also swims, and builds up endurance in a pool. He punches in a pool, and this keeps him from beating up his body. He does this workout twice a week.

Next, we see promoter Lou DiBella, checking in on marquee client Sergio. He recalls that he came across Sergio years ago, when he wasn’t known. He’s the most talented guy he’s had, and as good a guy as he’s known in the business. They chat, Sergio in Spanish, Lou in English. Sergio recalls Lou took a chance on him when he was 33, and he appreciates that. Dibella says Sergio looks like he looked before he met Julio Cesar Chavez, and he thinks Cotto will be in over his head June 7. “It would be impossible for me to be at a higher level,” Sergio says.

Cotto counters that he will be ready for anything, in his first middleweight bout, that Sergio has. Roach says Cotto will break down and take out Sergio. It will be the best night of his career, Cotto says. Sergio says he is absolutely convinced he will win. “You made a mistake taking this fight, Cotto,” says Sergio.

Cotto-Martinez is one week away. Part II of the 24/7 runs Thursday night.

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