Reflecting on his journey by the candy science, Sergio Martinez tells Thomas Hauser, “Life generally takes you thru a path the place the lighter factor is boxing.”
At 9.15 on the night time of June 7, 2014, Sergio Martinez entered dressing room #5 at Madison Sq. Backyard with coach Pablo Sarmiento, cutman Roger Anderson, and bodily therapist Raquel Bordons. Cornerman Russ Anber and Nathan Lewkowicz (the son of promoter Sampson Lewkowicz) adopted. The room was small and angularly-shaped with brown industrial carpet and cream-colored cinderblock partitions. Two doorways down the hall, Miguel Cotto was ensconsed in dressing room #3.
In two-and-a-half hours, Martinez and Cotto would battle for the middleweight championship of the world. Sergio was the defending champion, however his dressing room was one-third the dimensions of Miguel’s. Different slights had reduce deeper.
The struggle and all promotional materials for it had been styled “Cotto-Martinez” fairly than the opposite method round. “It bothers me,” Sergio admitted, “as a result of it’s disrespectful to the historical past and traditions of boxing. However Cotto mentioned there can be no struggle if his title wasn’t first on the posters. I can think about that, on June 7, he’ll ask for rose petals to be thrown at his ft or he received’t stroll to the ring.”
Extra considerably, the funds of the struggle have been weighted within the challenger’s favor. Cotto and High Rank (Miguel’s promoter) had retained Puerto Rican tv rights off the highest. The primary $15,000,000 in internet income after that will be cut up 55 per cent to Cotto and High Rank, 45 per cent to Martinez and his promoters (DiBella Leisure and Sampson Promotions). Thereafter, the cut up would improve to 60-40.
To Cotto, that was honest and logical. “Two instances in my profession – once I fought Pacquiao and once I fought Mayweather – I used to be the champion however I used to be the B-side,” Miguel famous. “I understood my place. Sergio Martinez is a superb fighter, however boxing is a enterprise. For this struggle, I’m the one who sells the tickets.”
A fighter’s dressing room is a sheltered world within the hours earlier than a giant struggle. In Sergio’s case, the temper was fixed from bout to bout; relaxed and low-key till the ultimate minutes when smiles evaporated.
Some fighters are intimidated by a big-fight ambiance. Martinez thrived on it. He cherished the highlight. His 2012 bout in opposition to Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr had been extra private for him than this one due to the backroom dealing that led to his championship being quickly taken from him. However he’d reclaimed the throne in entrance of a raucous crowd of Chavez partisans. Now he was desirous to carry out on a fair greater stage.
Referee Mike Griffin got here into the dressing room and gave Martinez his pre-fight directions. Russ Anber wrapped Sergio’s fingers. Martinez placed on his sneakers and trunks and shadow-boxed briefly. Then he pulled a protecting latex sleeve up over every knee. “A precaution,” he defined. “Not a necessity.”
A precaution deemed advisable due to the surgical procedure and rehabilitation that Martinez had undergone the earlier yr.
Pablo Sarmiento gloved Sergio up. Earlier within the night, New York State Athletic Fee inspector Ernie Morales had initialed Martinez’s handwraps. Now Sue Etkin (the opposite inspector assigned to Sergio) wrote “Sue” on the tape protecting the lace on every glove.
Martinez hit the pads with Sarmiento.
Music performed – Out of Management, sung by You Aren’t Going to Like This. The identical tune, repeatedly.
There was anticipation in Sergio’s eyes. Madison Sq. Backyard. The middleweight championship of the world. A screaming bloodlust crowd of 21,090 waited.
For Muhammad Ali, boxing was a sport. Joe Frazier handled it as fight. In Martinez’s thoughts, he was getting ready for a sporting competitors. Two doorways down the hall, Miguel Cotto was getting ready for fight.
Like most fighters, Martinez got here from a tough world. He’s a considerate clever man, generally philosophical. Rising up within the slums of Buenos Aires, he didn’t know what “dinner” was. The household didn’t sit down collectively at an appointed hour. When meals got here into the house, they ate it.
“When you find yourself very small, a baby, you don’t know that you just’re poor,” Sergio mentioned, reflecting again on that point. “Regardless that you’re hungry and chilly, when you’ve got the love of your mother and father, you’re pleased with what you will have since you’re used to that life and it’s all you realize. You then grow to be an adolescent. You begin to notice what you don’t have and start to consider methods to get what you need. You may work arduous or you possibly can take the shorter path and switch to crime. When you’ve got good mother and father, it makes a giant distinction in deciding which path you’re taking. When you find yourself an grownup, you notice absolutely what you missed as a baby. And once more, you will have a alternative. You may really feel sorry for your self or you possibly can really feel delight at the place you got here from and the place you’ve gotten to in life. I give due to the truth that I grew up poor as a result of it helps me respect what I’ve now.”
“The very poor determine with boxing,” Sergio continued. “They have a look at boxers and relate to the financial circumstances that we got here from and to our wrestle. They admire the braveness now we have to struggle to get to the subsequent degree. The very rich have a look at boxers as two animals making an attempt to kill one another for his or her leisure. They don’t determine on a human degree with the fighters. Lots of them – I actually consider this – need to see me fail in the long run, lose all my cash, and return to nothing. It’s like a recreation for them. And sadly, most boxers who go from very poor to very wealthy return rapidly to being poor once more.”
Taken severally, Sergio’s options aren’t classically good-looking. However they match collectively properly and his smile additional binds them collectively. Style designers love to hold garments on him. He has a robust bodily presence and carries himself with grace. From time to time, a tough look creeps into his eyes, as if he’s remembering the hardships of his youth or the calls for of his commerce.
Boxing was Martinez’s path to a greater life. “I used to be a superb scholar,” he mentioned. “However my household didn’t have the cash to proceed my schooling. With out my bodily items, I don’t assume I’d have discovered my method out of poverty. However I consider that everybody has a path in the event that they select to observe it. Everybody has a expertise that’s particular.”
Martinez turned professional in 1997 and fought in obscurity for a lot of his ring profession. Now, fourteen years later, he had misplaced solely twice in 55 fights. The primary defeat got here in 2000 by the hands of Antonio Margarito. “I used to be educated however I used to be not ready,” Martinez mentioned of that struggle. “I began properly, however it was unimaginable for me to win that night time. He was knowledgeable boxer, an excellent champion. And at that second, I used to be a boxer who, three or 4 years earlier than, was engaged on roofs. I used to be taking part in soccer with my pals when Margarito had already been knowledgeable boxer for six or seven years. What needed to occur occurred. When it comes to spirit, I by no means was down after that defeat.”
The second loss was a majority-decision verdict in a bout in opposition to Paul Williams in 2009. Martinez rebounded from that setback by dethroning middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik on April 17, 2010, and knocking Williams unconscious with a single punch within the second spherical of a November 20, 2010, rematch. These victories earned him recognition from the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America as its 2010 “Fighter of the Yr.”
A tattoo of a dragon was printed on the outdoors of Martinez’s left arm from his shoulder to his elbow. In January 2013, he’d added the phrase “resistencia” (resistance) on the within of his proper forearm and “victoria” (victory) on the within of his left forearm.
“The life I’ve chosen revolves round these two phrases,” Sergio mentioned, explaining the latter two tattoos. “Once I was getting ready to struggle Chavez [in September 2012], they have been continuously in my head. Then I signed to struggle Martin Murray. I wasn’t motivated, and I believed the tattoos would assist encourage me. There will probably be no extra tattoos. I don’t like tattoos. I by no means wished tattoos. I hate tattoos. It’s a contradiction, I do know. I can not clarify it besides to say, in two temporary moments in time, I believed it was vital to have these tattoos on my physique.”
Cotto-Martinez harkened again to a time when New York was the capitol of the sports activities world. Earlier within the day, California Chrome’s pursuit of racing’s Triple Crown had drawn a crowd of 102,000 to the Belmont Stakes. On struggle night time, Madison Sq. Backyard was rocking.
Cotto was bidding to grow to be the primary Puerto Rican to win titles in 4 weight divisions. This is able to be his ninth struggle within the huge Backyard area and the primary for Martinez. Three thousand followers had attended the Friday weigh-in. It might have been extra, however the doorways to The Theater at MSG have been closed an hour earlier than the fighters stepped on the scales.
Cotto-Martinez was an intriguing match-up between two compelling personalities who had served boxing properly. Martinez was a 2/1 betting favourite, however the end result of the struggle was very a lot doubtful.
The case for a Martinez victory started with the idea that Cotto wasn’t “Cotto” anymore. Miguel had misplaced two fights in a row (to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout) earlier than blowing out journeyman Delvin Rodriguez the earlier October. Previous to these fights, he’d been brutalised by Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao and regarded unusual in victories over Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga in addition to in a rematch in opposition to Margarito.
Trout was thought to have given Martinez a roadmap for beating Cotto. Like Sergio, Austin was a tall southpaw. Twelve months earlier, he’d outpointed Miguel 119-109, 117-111, 117-111. Requested at a sitdown with reporters concerning the parallels between Trout and Martinez, Cotto responded, “I fought Trout in 2012. Now it’s 2014. I by no means noticed that struggle after that night time, and I’ve no plans to see it once more.”
That appeared like a foul case of denial. Furthermore, for the primary time in a very long time, Martinez can be coming into the ring with a peak (three inches) and weight (4 kilos) benefit over his opponent.
“I like to observe my opponents,” Martinez has mentioned. “I like finding out them rather a lot. Greater than what they do, it’s how they assume. I need to know what my opponent is considering. As soon as I’ve seen them, I can determine them out; the concepts they’ve, their plan, their technique.”
Watching Cotto, Sergio had seen Pacquiao and Mayweather beat Miguel with pace and Margarito beat him with energy.
“Cotto doesn’t have the identical energy at this weight that he had at 147,” Martinez declared. “I’m the power-puncher of the 2 of us. Once I begin to discover my rhythm, my timing, and the proper distance, the struggle will probably be over.”
Workforce Cotto, after all, held to a opposite view.
Cotto can be essentially the most clever and technically-skilled opponent that Martinez had confronted. Freddie Roach (Miguel’s coach) was assured that edge would allow his fighter to use the issues in Sergio’s model.
“Martinez is a superb athlete,” Roach mentioned. “I wouldn’t name him an excellent boxer. In case you maintain your self in a superb place, more often than not you’ll management the struggle. Sergio’s footwork is reckless. He’s everywhere. Miguel can reap the benefits of that. And I believe Miguel can beat Martinez down the center. Sergio’s protection is just not all that good, when you alternate with him, let your fingers go, he’s very hittable. Chavez didn’t try this till the final spherical, and also you noticed what occurred when he did. I believe Cotto’s boxing capability will probably be an excessive amount of for Martinez to deal with.”
On the difficulty of measurement and energy, Cotto declared, “It’s not about gaining the load. It’s about not having to lose the load. For the primary time in my profession, I’m not involved about making weight. I can eat to be sturdy.”
“We moved up the load slightly bit and placed on extra muscle,” Roach added. “I believe Miguel will probably be stronger on the within and way more bodily on the within than Martínez is. We’re going to push him round with no downside. On the within we’re the larger stronger fighter.”
However the greatest concern surrounding Cotto-Martinez was Sergio’s bodily situation. Some individuals thought that Cotto was shot. Nearly everybody believed that Martinez was fragile.
Forty-three months had handed since Sergio’s demolition of Paul Williams. Subsequent to that, he had regarded susceptible. Greater than most fighters, Martinez fights along with his legs. However in latest fights, his legs had betrayed him.
After decisioning Martin Murray in 2013, Martinez underwent main knee surgical procedure.
“The recuperation was very painful,” Sergio acknowledged. “I used to be on crutches for 9 months, and it is extremely arduous to return again from that. However that is the highway that I selected, and I benefit from the achievement of getting back from one thing like this. Proper now, I’m simply the identical as when there have been no knee issues. I’ve overcome all obstacles.”
That thought was echoed by bodily therapist Raquel Bordons, who mentioned within the dressing room an hour earlier than the struggle, “Sergio’s condtion is greater than I may have hoped for. He’s very, superb now.”
However was Martinez absolutely repaired after the surgical procedure, or was he a 39-year-old athlete with sub-standard physique components? Tom Gerbasi framed the difficulty when he wrote, “It’s virtually as if Martinez making it to the ring is the equal of New York Knicks captain Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel for Recreation Seven of the NBA Finals in opposition to the Los Angeles Lakers on Could 8, 1970, to encourage his group and get them off to the beginning they wanted to win the sport and the title. It’s received that really feel, that buzz, that for another night time, an excellent champion might be nice. Saturday night time is Sergio Martinez’s Recreation Seven. However that is no basketball recreation. Martinez can’t hit two baskets, return to the bench, and depart his teammates to complete the work like Reed did. It is a struggle, twelve rounds with the most effective fighter Martinez has ever been in with. Thirty-six minutes of wear and tear and tear, bodily and psychological warfare.”
“Who do you want within the struggle?” boxing maven Pete Susens was requested.
“Whichever man has one final huge struggle left in him,” Susens answered.
Throughout the build-up to Cotto-Martinez, Sergio had informed the media, “It has been my dream for a very long time to struggle within the huge room at Madison Sq. Backyard.”
On struggle night time, that dream become a nightmare.
The closely pro-Cotto crowd was chanting “Cotto, Cotto” even earlier than the bell to begin spherical one rang. It didn’t have to attend lengthy for satisfaction. One minute into the primary stanza, Cotto staggered Martinez with a left hook up high, A barrage of punches put Sergio face down on the canvas. He rose on unsteady legs and, a minute later, was decked once more by a proper hand. As soon as extra, he struggled to his ft. Virtually instantly, a physique shot put him down for the third time.
That left Martinez with a gaping gap to climb out of on the judges’ scorecards. And worse, he was now a debilitated fighter.
“The primary punch that harm me, after that, I by no means recovered,” Sergio mentioned in his dressing room after the struggle. “I wasn’t the identical after that. I couldn’t do something. My thoughts was disconnected from my physique. My thoughts informed me to do one thing, and my physique wouldn’t do it.”
A brutal beatdown adopted. Cotto punished Martinez virtually at will to the pinnacle and physique. All the things that Miguel landed appeared to harm. Sergio’s solely hope was that Cotto would fade within the late rounds, as had occurred in a number of latest outings. However with every passing spherical, it turned extra unlikely that Martinez would have something left if and when that eventuality occurred. Because the struggle wore on, the query was not who would win, however how a lot punishment Martinez may take. Sergio wasn’t simply being outpointed. He was getting crushed up. All that he had left was his coronary heart.
After 9 rounds, Pablo Sarmiento stopped the carnage. Within the dressing room after the struggle, the coach recounted, “I informed him, ‘Sergio, champion, you imply extra to me than I imply to myself. I’m stopping it now.’ Sergio pleaded with me, ‘Another spherical.’ I informed him no, and he accepted that.”
If Cotto-Martinez was Miguel’s most interesting hour, it was additionally Sarmiento’s.
As Pablo spoke, Martinez sat on a folding cushioned chair. His face was bruised and swollen. There was a reduce on his proper eyelid and an unsightly gash on high of his head. The fitting facet of his physique, the place Cotto’s left hook had landed repeatedly, ached. Thankfully, a post-fight journey to Bellevue Hospital for a precautionary MRI revealed nothing extra severe than a damaged nostril.
Previous to preventing Cotto, Sergio Martinez informed this author, “I need to be remembered first as a superb particular person and a person of integrity. After that, if individuals keep in mind me as a superb fighter, that will be good.”
Historical past will document that he was each.
