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Cotto vs Martinez: Fight becoming personal during press stops

Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez are headed for a June 7 HBO pay-per-view main event, a fight that seemed mostly about business when signed. But now, the personalities are clashing, and the fight is getting a little more personal.

Elsa
Scott Christ is the managing editor of Bad Left Hook and has been covering boxing for SB Nation since 2006.

Miguel Cotto says it's all about business, but Sergio Martinez has clearly become more than a bit annoyed by Cotto's attitude leading up to their June 7 fight. Yesterday, we discussed Martinez's thoughts on the demands Cotto made, a humorous take on Cotto's name going first on the promotional materials, and his entering the ring first, despite Martinez being the defending champion in the fight.

Cotto, predictably, said it's just about who's the A-side, and who's the B-side:

"Boxing is a business. When I had to fight Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather, I was the B-side of the equation. [In this fight] here, Sergio is the B-side of the equation. The one who is going to sell the tickets is [the A-side] and that is me."

Martinez, however, says it's about more than just the demands that have been made or anything Cotto has done in the promotion. He just doesn't like Cotto much:

"He acts like a little girl, like a 16-year-old girl. If he does not get these things, then the fight would not happen. It's ridiculous. But I think that a lot of the things that he does are ridiculous, [and not necessarily things that are done] to me personally, but he has a personality that bothers me."

Cotto (38-4, 31 KO) has a fair enough point, really -- he's the A-side here, because he'll be responsible for the majority of the crowd at Madison Square Garden and a larger share of the interest in the fight overall. Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KO) has had just one pay-per-view fight before this one in his career, and he was the B-side that time against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, too. Martinez certainly isn't a nobody -- he's a strong B-side -- but Miguel Cotto is a bigger star.

But I think this is interesting the way it's starting to play out, and not exactly a surprise, either. Martinez isn't the first guy Cotto has rubbed the wrong way, and Cotto, as usual, won't let anyone know if he cares or not. He's ice cold.

Is your interest in this match rising?

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