By Johnny Walker

After his thrilling victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in which he almost threw away what had been a whitewash win during the seismic final two rounds, newly re-crowned middleweight kingpin Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez seems to have set his sights on a new target: veteran light middleweight contender Miguel Angel Cotto.

Martinez, who showed a previously unknown aggressive side to his personality in the lead-up to the Chavez fight, recently gave an interview in which he said that aside from a rematch with Chavez, he’d also like to fight Miguel Cotto for the simple reason that he finds Cotto “strange” and “does not like him.”

OK then.

Cotto, as one might expect, has reacted with a typically measured response, but makes clear his disdain for Martinez as well.

“There is a place and time for everything,” Cotto says.

“Sergio been trying for years to make a fight with Miguel Cotto, he is searching desperately trying to obtain what all of us want: money,” says a riled Cotto.

“He needs to sit down — he just fought — and wait for my turn on December 1 to fight (against Austin Trout). If he really wants the fight for 2013, we will sit down with his team after the fight, we will talk to see what Sergio Martínez has to offer and what benefits fighting him brings to my career. If it really benefits my career, we will choose him as an opponent.”

Cotto was equally cool to the notion put forth by Martinez associate Sampson Lewkovicz that “Maravilla” is willing to forgo his part of the purse for a fight with Cotto, so badly does he want to punish the Puerto Rican.

“If we say no to his offer, it is because even with his purse, he does not meet our financial expectations,” Cotto sniffed.

Stay tuned — this one is just getting started.

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