On the 7th June, Miguel Cotto
challenges Sergio Martinez for the right to be the Middleweight
Champion, and with it the distinction of being the first Puerto Rican
fighter to win world titles in 4 different divisions. Whatever happens,
and whoever wins, this fight is good for boxing, however there is
massive potential for money-spinning future fights depending on the
winner of this fight.
Miguel Cotto is the most marketable free agent there is in the
sport today. He has no ties to promotional or television companies so
therefore can work on what is best for his career without a hindrance.
Cotto turned downed a guaranteed $10 million to face Canelo Alvarez in
March, to instead face Martinez for less money, but for the chance of
achieving a historic feat.
If Cotto were to beat Martinez his profitability would rise
massively. HBO would certainly want to televise him again, maybe in a
possible rematch with Martinez, or the unlikely chance that Cotto would
face the fearsome Gennady Golovkin, but at this stage of Cotto’s career,
Golovkin doesn’t represent value great risk/return value. Instead HBO
could throw a wildcard option, in what definitely would be a huge money
spinner, and offer Cotto a contest with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., that is
if Chavez Jr. is disciplined enough to reach middleweight cut-off point.
Showtime would probably be Cotto’s television business dealing
of choice if he were to win. The $10 million Cotto was offered to face
Alvarez would likely be doubled if Cotto was to bring the lineal
Middleweight championship to the negotiation table. Floyd Mayweather may
even be tempted to offer Cotto a shed-load of cash to face him in
September, to allow Mayweather to assert his legendary status further
and allow him the opportunity to win another world title in another
weight division, especially against a man in Cotto whom Floyd has
already beaten, and is not a man much bigger than he is.
A Cotto win could also open doors for the WBO titlist, Peter
Quilin, a boxer who has seen his career somewhat stagnate due to the
promotional Cold War, and because of the fact that most of the top
Middleweight contenders are contracted to HBO and not Showtime, although
a Cotto-Quilin showdown is unlikely.
If Martinez were to beat Cotto, the Argentine would have less
options, indeed despite the fact that Martinez has hinted that he wishes
to fight on, age and injury worries may halt any future aspirations.
Although Martinez is respected as a great Middleweight champion,
with impressive wins against the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams,
Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, the only name of mainstream relevance
on Martinez’s resume is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and with Chavez Jr. the
‘name’ is emphasized more than the boxing pedigree. Therefore, a
victory against Cotto would likely represent the high point of
‘Maravilla’s’ career, and the opportunities to partake in fights of
similar prestige would be few and far between.
This is because of the fact that Martinez is contracted to HBO,
the only pairing that the television executives would want is Martinez
vs. Golovkin, something Martinez hasn’t really considered recently.
Meanwhile the WBC seem pre-occupied with matching the winner against the
experienced but limited Mexican, Marco Antonio Rubio. Martinez as a
small middleweight will also certainly not be moving up to 168lbs to
chase lucrative matches in the Super Middleweight division. Indeed,
unless the contest next Saturday against Cotto is such a barnstormer, or
so controversial that only a rematch would do, Martinez may consider
giving his aging body some rest and think that hanging up the gloves is
the best option.
Either way, it is contests like Cotto-Martinez that boxing fans
live for, and continues on a great fortnight for boxing, after the
all-British domestic grudge match at Wembley Stadium between Carl Froch
and George Groves. What boxing fans want to see most is great fighters
like these facing each other to hopefully produce great and memorable
fights. One c
Source:http://www.boxingnews24.com/2014/05/the-future-implications-of-cotto-martinez/
