At this point in time, WBC ?Diamond Belt? middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is the hottest fighter in the heavier weight divisions. I know that sounds like faint praise, considering the scarcity of marquee names in light-heavy, cruiser, and ?heftyweight? classes, and even among the middleweights. However, it cannot be denied that the brightest marquee stars today ? such as Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, and Giovanni Segura ? campaign in the divisions below middleweight.
Yet it also cannot be denied that Martinez is far from out of place in that eminent company.
In little more than two years, Martinez, who is from Argentina, has had a string of five meaningful bouts: a draw with Kermit Cintron that many ringsiders thought Martinez should have won; a disputed majority-decision loss to Paul Williams; a masterful points win over Kelly Pavlik; a spectacular one-punch knockout of Williams in their rematch; and an eight-round dismissal of the highly touted Sergei Dzinziruk. Those last three performances have vaulted Martinez into the Top 10 pound-for-pound rankings, and even into some commentators? Top 5.
Martinez doesn?t face much competition in his own division. His fellow 160-pound champions are Felix Sturm, Dmitry Pirog and Sebastian Sylvester. The Argentine would be a prohibitive favorite against any of these beltholders. Junior-middleweights with higher aspirations would not present much of a challenge, either. True, Antonio Margarito stopped Martinez back in 2000, when they were both welterweights. But the odds are strongly against a repeat of that result more than a decade later.
Although Martinez himself might be considering moving up to super-middleweight after the Super Six tournament ends, that could be a leap too far for him, considering that he fought at junior-middleweight only two years ago. He would be at a disadvantage going up against the likes of Andre Ward, Carl Froch or Lucian Bute.
Martinez?s best bet is to clean out the middleweights, while turning back the challenge of any junior-middleweight who wants to step up. Of course, there?s always the chance that Manny Pacquiao might want to fight him, provided Pacquiao gets past Shane Mosley. But that possibility remains remote.
It is far too soon to speculate on whether or not Martinez belongs in the ranks of the all-time middleweight greats. He cannot yet be compared with his countryman, Carlos Monzon, or other Hall-of-Famers such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Stanley Ketchel, Harry Greb, Mickey Walker, Marvin Hagler or Bernard Hopkins. Martinez needs to establish a more extensive body of work to warrant consideration at that level.
Yet there are some points of similarity between Martinez and predecessors Hopkins and Hagler.
Like Hopkins, Martinez took a long time to reach his peak. He?s 36 now, the same age Hopkins was when ?The Executioner? scored an upset KO win over the highly favored Felix Trinidad ? arguably Hopkins? greatest performance. Like Hopkins, Martinez stays in shape between fights, which suggests that the Argentine could also remain effective into his 40s.
However, I believe Martinez is closer to Hagler than he is to Hopkins. Like Hagler, Martinez is a southpaw. Their height is about the same (5?10? for Martinez, 5?9 1/2? for Hagler). They are both boxer-punchers, though Hagler?s KO percentage is much higher than Martinez?s. They both battled their way through adversity early in their careers. Martinez had his run of bad luck against Cintron and in the first Williams fight. Hagler?s career was almost derailed by losses to Willie ?The Worm? Monroe and Bobby ?Boogaloo? Watts in the meat-grinder otherwise known as Philadelphia.
And consider their nicknames. Martinez is known as ?Maravilla,? which means ?wonder? or ?marvel? in Spanish. And Hagler?s nickname was ?Marvelous.?
?Maravilla? will have to accomplish a lot more for his name to be mentioned in the same breath as those of Hagler, Hopkins, Robinson, et al. But if he sustains his current hot streak, he will one day merit a plaque alongside theirs in boxing?s Hall of Fame.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers.
