In the 48 hours following his impressive knock-out victory Paul Williams, it seems as if Sergio Martinez’s name has been linked to every available fighter from super middleweight down to welterweight.
Martinez vs. Manny Pacquiao? Martinez vs. Floyd Mayweather? Martinez vs. Lucian Bute?
All those bouts are possible options, each with their own distinct probability of coming to pass, but there is one fight Martinez has already publicly nixed.
Back in 2000, going into his 18th professional bout, Martinez (46-2, 25 KOs) lost via 7th round technical knockout to Antonio Margarito.
Some might think that Martinez would look to a soft touch against Margarito after the Mexican-American was battered for twelve round by Manny Pacquiao earlier this month.
Revenge, along with a nice payday, is hard for most boxer to pass up.
When probed by Argentina’s Cadena 3, Martinez clearly nixed the idea of a Margarito match-up.
“I don’t want to be the boxer who retires Antonio Margarito,” said Martinez. “His going to end up in bad shape. He is not doing well after the beating that Pacquiao gave him.”
Martinez believes that Pacquiao and Mayweather are possible opponents for his next fight and that those fights are already being negotiated.
“I am not sure which one I will be fighting,” said Martinez. “But it is going to be a great fight, either way.”
