This report filed by Doghouse Boxing's sister site, SecondsOut.com.
Despite rumors that Sergio Martinez is still suffering from a knee injury in the lead up to his world middleweight title defence against Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, the Argentine pound for pound top 10 fighter insists he ‘totally 100%’ Healthy.
At the final press conference in New York on Wednesday Martinez insisted he will prove his fitness on Saturday night.
“I feel great, and you will see that come Saturday night,” said Martinez. “I am totally 100% healthy. My doctor who is here with me told me that I only need to wear it(Sheath) as a precaution, so I am following my doctor’s orders.
“I am very motivated for this fight. I am totally on my game and everyone will see that on June 7th.
“Regardless of what Freddie Roach says, Cotto will get beat up on Saturday night.
“Freddie Roach is a joker and a big talker. He was saying how a cyclist can not beat a world champion, and look at what happened with Chavez. He says Chavez only trained for five days for that fight, but that is not my fault, it is both Chavez and his team’s fault. Freddie is a good trainer and a good businessman, he knows how to sell a fight.
Regarding his immediate boxing future Martinez added: “After this fight I will sit down with my team and we will discuss the future. I have one fight left with HBO and I am 100 percent going to fulfill that. So for anyone saying that this is my last fight, they are wrong.
“I am getting asked the same questions over and over again about my knee, and I know that the media is just doing their job. I can assure you though that I am 100%. I am old, but not by that much.
Talking about the fight with Cotto the popular Argentine fighter said: “Cotto has taken a lot of punishment in his fights but I am expecting the best Cotto on Saturday night.
“My style is the style that I have used since the amateurs. I have done this for the past 17 years and I won’t change. It has always worked for me so why change now? My best defense is with my legs not with my arms.
“Regarding getting knocked down: It is not how you get knocked down, it is how you get up and I always get up. That’s what makes me the champion that I am.
“Many people in the press and the boxing world say that my style is not likeable, but I enjoy it. I am different and I am very happy with the way I am. The critics follow me because I bring something different in the ring than any other boxers. I am unique.
Martinez and promoter Lou DiBella also confirmed that there will be no issue with the New York State Athletic Commission about the middleweight champ wearing a sheath on his knee.
“There are no issues with the sheath I will be using for my knee on fight night,” said Martinez. “Once the commission saw what it actually was I was using, they were completely ok with it.
“It was very hard for me to come back from this, (the knee and shoulder injury) but I have an excellent team behind me, and more than that I have my ego and that is what drove me to get back to where I was before the injuries occurred.
DiBella confirmed: “We got a request a couple months ago that we had to have Sergio get a MRI on both his knee and hand. It is interesting that this has never come up before in the past. It was the commission’s request though, and we abided by it. I commend David Berlin and the NYSAC though as he came to a very quick decision and determined that the sheath is ok for Sergio to wear on fight night.
“Do I think people were messing with us regarding the whole issue with the knee and sheath? Yes, absolutely.
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