IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“There is more to the fight between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez than its result. A capacity crowd of nearly 22,000 did not jostle its way into Madison Square Garden simply to tally ledgers at the end of the proceedings. And yet, the outcome is as good a place to start as any. So let us begin with this: Miguel Cotto stopped Sergio Martinez last night when trainer Pablo Sarmiento refused to allow Martinez to answer the bell for the tenth round.”

Read Going Big: Miguel Cotto TKO10 Sergio Martinez on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“It is certainly an event—only a fool would deny that. Miguel Cotto’s challenge of Sergio Martinez Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York is more than a fight for the middleweight crown, it is a veritable pageant. In a world where “celebrity” qualifies as a vocation, star power goes a long way. And in a sport where the best fighters treat each other like magnets of like charge, this matchup of proven headliners is a rarity, even on pay-per-view. Yes, Cotto-Martinez is most certainly an event. But is it a fight?”

Read Blood Pageant: Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez Preview on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

After suffering consecutive losses to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Austin Trout, Cotto faced questions regarding how much he had left, and, perhaps more important, just how much he wanted to give. Trainer Pedro Diaz was given his walking papers, replaced by A-lister Freddie Roach, who, like Cotto, has watched his own heyday disappear in the rearview mirror. The marriage of the offensive-minded Roach and the shopworn Cotto has injected some life into the fighter’s twilight run. After Manny Pacquiao ran him through a wood-chipper in 2009, Cotto, Caguas, Puerto Rico, become increasingly reliant on his boxing skills to win fights, tempering the ferocity that typified his destructive craft with some cuter tricks. Was there a seance or two, maybe some dark hours with a Ouija board to go with the mitt work to help conjure up Cotto’s past as he prepared for Rodriguez? Whatever tactics Roach employed, they worked. Roach wanted Cotto to fight. Cotto fought, and Rodriguez suffered the consequences.

Rolling Thunder: Miguel Cotto TKO3 Delvin Rodriguez on The Cruelest Sport.