Las Vegas – If you listened to most of the chatter floating around boxing circles prior to Saturday night, one would have believed that Sergio Martinez has little, or no chance of looking impressive against then undefeated south-paw Serhiy Dzinziruk.
As the battle unfolded, Martinez was able to knockdown Dzinziruk five times, though the 35 year old had never been knocked down as a professional or amateur en route to an eighth round technical knock-out.
Maybe even more importantly, Martinez turned what was supposed to be a ho-hum HBO main event into a spectacular night of boxing; effecitively doing what Manny Pacquiao used to do.
Add to the fact that Martinez dismantled Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik last year, and the fighting pride of Argentina has put together a very special run of success.
Manny Pacquiao’s body of work – has earned him the title of Pound for Pound King, but in recent times Martinez has been the better fighter.
Since the destruction of Miguel Cotto, Top Rank has given Manny Pacquiao realtively soft touches against Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley, men who have no real chance to beat the Filipino.
Meanwhile, Martinez has fought the best men in the junior middleweight and middleweight division, and come out as the king of those classes.
My message may not be well received by the throngs of Pac-Maniacs, but it is clear, if not the best fighter in boxing, Martinez is making a case for himself.
