UPDATE: Referee stops fight before round 10 begins. Martinez is unable to continue. Cotto wins and becomes the new middleweight champion
ROUND 9
Cotto lands plenty of jabs and combos early. One good shot by Martinez gives him some momentum but Cotto quickly takes it back with some upercuts
COTTO 10-9
ROUND 8
Martinez jabs land early and Cotto hooks land late. Martinez slips and Cotto lands combination to end round.
Cotto 10-9
ROUND 7
Cotto quick counter with :50 seconds left is the higlight of the round. Cotto seems like he knows he's in control as he dances around Martinez. Another late surge by the Argentinian doesnt help him this time.
Cotto 10-9
ROUND 6
Martinez becomes the agressor towards the middle of the round. However, Cotto turns the tables and chases him around the ring, landjng plenty of punches. Martjnez late flurry gives him the round.
Martinez 10-9
ROUND 5
Both fighters box it out in the middle of the ring until Martinez's shots fall. Ref stops to bring them up -- to the chagrin of the crowd. They trade blows before both ease up. Pretty even round. But ill give to Cotto who seemed to land more power punches.
Cotto 10-9
ROUND 4
Crowd tries to will Martinez back in the fight. Cotto works the jab whicb oopens up big oower punches. Martinez gets in trouble on the ropes but retreats to the middle where he gets one good sbot in on Cotto. That punch quiets Cotto's assault but not enough to win the round.
Cotto 10-9
ROUND 3
Cotto comes out swinging and gets a good pop on Martinez. Martinez lands a few good jabs before dancing around the ring. Both fighters box in the middle of the ring before the bell rings. No knockdown this time.
Cotto 10-9
ROUND 2
Martinez tries to stage a comeback but Cotto stays on the offensive. Cotto knocks Martinez down a fourth time.
Cotto 10-8
ROUND 1
With the crowd chanting 'COTTO' both fighers size each other (up until Cotto barrages Martinez with punches till he knocks him down three times(!) within 30 seconds of each other, Martinez tries to fight back but Cotto has dominated the fight.
COTTO 10-6
Miguel Cotto faces off against Sergio Martinez tonight, June 7, at Madison Square Garden. The 33-year-old Puerto Rican phenom, Cotto (38-4, 31 KO) looks to win the WBC and Ring Magazine middleweight championship from Martinez (51-2-2, 38 KO). The 39-year-old Argentinian, coming off a second surgery to his knee and recovering from a broken hand after his fight with Martin Murray in 2013, Martinez is now healthy and ready to take on his opponent and an expected pro-Cotto crowd.
Question marks surrounded the fight as the afrementioned injuries and surgeries have put Martinez at a possible disadvantage. Cotto, on te other hand has a new trainer in Freddie Roach and if that "marriage" doesn't work out as well as they believe than the bigger and faster Martinez may dominate the fight. Cotto will have to get some old habits under control - fighting directly in front of his opponents, hanging on the ropes -- if he plans to become a champion again.
“We are having a great training camp. Miguel is working really hard and we have great sparring partners, some really awkward southpaws. Everything is right on schedule. Miguel is in great shape and I can’t wait for this fight to happen. We are going into the fight thinking Sergio is going to be the best that he can be and that’s the way it should be,” Roach said.
Fans should see some great boxing as these two Latino fighters go toe-to-toe in the grandest sports arena in the country. Stay with Latin Times as every round is live blogged and this article is updated. Each round will be posted at the top of this page.
Saturday night's boxing match will start at 9:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on HBO pay-per-view.
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