Sergio Martinez or Miguel Cotto: Whose Victory Matters More?

Saturday night will be loaded with bouts taking place in the middleweight division. Upcoming matchups may be determined by the results. It's important for all winners to defeat their opponents decisively, which may not be as easy as some people think.

WBC Middleweight Champion and Ring Magazine 2010's "Fighter of the Year" Sergio Martinez (46-2-2) will be taking on undefeated fighter Sergiy Dzinziruk. The fight takes place at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut and will be broadcast live on HBO.

Martinez' opponent is relatively unknown in the U.S., but Dzinziruk's slick counter-punching style will be eye-opening to many fans if he can claim a victory over "Pound-for-Pound"-ranked Martinez.

On Showtime PPV, WBO Light-Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto (35-2) will be fighting dangerous slugger Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1). Both fighters currently rebounded in 2010 from last-round knockouts at the hands of top welterweight fighters. Mayorga defeated Michael Walker in December while Cotto defeated Yuri Foreman over nine rounds at Yankee Stadium in June.

Mayorga has been in the spotlight before when he defeated Vernon Forrest twice in 2003. He would go on to fight seven more times before a two-year break from the sport from 2008 to 2010. He's fought the biggest names in the welterweight and middleweight divisions including Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas.

If Martinez and Cotto are on the fast track to fighting each other later this year, these two bouts will be major in determining how a potential fight between the two will be marketed, even if their opponents are complete opposites.

So who has the tougher fight of the two?

Martinez would be the obvious choice as he is going up against an undefeated opponent, but looking at the way each fighter may lose may give us the answer.

A close decision loss to Dzinziruk would not be as detrimental to Martinez than if Cotto loses to Mayorga in more decisive fashion. Both Dzinziruk and Mayorga have the styles that can make their opponents look bad, and this is the last thing Martinez and Cotto could possibly want as they look for higher-profile fights.

The trash-talking Mayorga has been taking shots at Cotto since the fight as announced. Remarks about him and his country have certainly fired up the boxer from Puerto Rico. Let's be honest: Mayorga's only chance is to get Cotto to brawl inside the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Don't count on seeing anything close to a brawl taking place in the bout over 2000 miles away on the East Coast. Martinez has shown the ability to dig deep and exchange power punches in his two fights with Paul Williams, but it's all part of a calculated attack supported by his speed and confidence.

Recent news of Martinez' trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, not being able to corner his bout due to personal problems shouldn't have an effect on the Argentinian.

Fights are intriguing for this reason: Who comes out on top cannot be answered just by analyzing the styles. It's the moments during the fight that determine the ultimate answers that carry the careers of both fighters into the bigger and better fights.

We will just have to wait and see to find out.