According to Univision, world middleweight champion Sergio Martinez today renounced the WBC diamond belt after the sanctioning body broke its own ruling by letting its “world champion” Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. fight a lesser opponent instead of Martinez. Just weeks ago at its convention, the WBC ordered Chavez to face face Martinez or give up the paper championship the WBC bestowed upon him. According to Martinez, WBC president Jose Sulaiman asked Martinez to acquiesce to Chavez retaining the title while avoiding Martinez, but Martinez refused. Martinez said Sulaiman put out a false press release saying Martinez agreed to Chavez’s February 4th fight against Marco Antnio Rubio (this was the same week in which Sulaiman defended Floyd Mayweather by saying beating up a lady is not a major sin or a crime). Although he holds no major titles, Boxingtalk, along with the Golden Boy owned Ring Magazine will continue to recognize Martinez as the world middleweight champion because Martinez beat Kelly Pavlik who beat Jermain Taylor who beat Bernard Hopkins, who became the indisputable world middlweight champion in 2001.
