In late March at Randy Couture?s Extreme Boxing Club in Las Vegas an open media workout was held for the participants of an HBO Boxing After Dark show that included an interim WBA Jr. Welterweight title bout between champion Marcos Maidana and Victor Cayo as well as a rematch between Lightweight contenders Joan Guzman and Ali Funeka.
As is often the case with many media workouts, the fighters were fashionably late and members from the press tried to kill time before their arrivals. It was then in the far corner of the gym that an unassuming individual seemed to stick out. Wearing a baseball cap, black T-shirt, and jeans it was at first hard to spot who it was but it soon became clear that it was none other than WBC Jr. Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
The Argentinean fighter was in town to show support for his stable mate and good friend Cayo and the press soon swarmed him and began questioning him about his then upcoming fight with Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City. Martinez? low key demeanor beguiled the fact that he can have a serious mean streak in the ring and he appeared to be in tremendous shape for the huge contest.
On April 17th Martinez would end up scoring the biggest victory of his career with a hard fought decision over Pavlik. Martinez started fast, overcame a knockdown as he had slowed in the middle rounds as Pavlik worked his way back into the fight, and eventually carved up the Youngstown, Ohio native late in the fight to pull out the win. It was a triumphant display, one that netted Martinez the WBC and WBO Middleweight titles, but for the moment Sergio seems to be without a dance partner for his next fight.
As reported by ESPN?s Dan Rafael, Martinez is ready and willing to face all comers at either 154 or 160 pounds. His promoter Lou Dibella and advisor Sampson Lewkowicz reportedly game HBO a huge list of opponents that the fighter was willing to face including the likes of Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Vanes Martirosyan, Sergio Mora, Felix Sturm, Alfredo Angulo, Luis Collazo, Alfonso Gomez, and the winner of the June 26th bout between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and John Duddy.
It?s a breath of fresh air to see a fighter ready and willing to take on all comers and while HBO had preferred seeing a rematch between Martinez and Williams, Dan Goosen, Williams’ promoter, told Rafael that his fighter was moving back down to 147 for his next fight. Williams edged Martinez by split decision last December in a riveting back and forth affair that could have went either way.
What is most disappointing is the fact that Martinez has all of the core qualities you would want in any world class fighter, including remarkable talent and the willingness to challenge himself, but he is still reportedly without a date from HBO for his next fight. Elaborating on the situation Dibella?s confusion is apparent.
“If a fight isn’t makeable because the other guy turns it down, it’s not fair that my fighter, the legitimate champion, can’t get a fight on HBO,” DiBella told Rafael. “And, by the way, we’re in two weight classes because we’ll do what we have to do to get a big fight. I’m super frustrated. I didn’t think we’d be in this position. What I find more annoying is that guys who are more judicious with the guys they’ll fight — they say, ‘I won’t fight him, it’s a bad matchup for me’ — are on HBO I go to the network and say, ‘My guy will fight the fight you want him to fight,’ and when I start mentioning names, I hear, ‘That guy won’t fight you.’ So if they won’t fight Sergio, why do they have a date on HBO and Sergio doesn’t?”
A confusing situation indeed. At 35 years of age Martinez isn?t getting any younger and it would be a shame if he doesn?t find himself in the ring in a high-profile bout the next time he sets foot inside the ring. Cotto, Williams, and Margarito in particular would all make for worthy fights and the latter two would give Martinez a chance to get redemption for the losses on his career. Only time will tell.
