Having gotten used to the fight scene in Las Vegas over the past year and half, I find it very easy to get caught up in events whenever they hit town and such was the case with this weekend’s Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga card at the MGM Grand. From Mayorga’s trash-talking antics, Cotto’s compelling style and demeanor, and the energy from the crowd of over 7,200 inside the building, it was another memorable show in Sin City.
Lost in the madness of Cotto-Mayorga, at least slightly in my eyes, was the fact that another one of the sport’s premier talents was on display as the world’s recognized best middleweight Sergio Martinez chopped down the very formidable Sergiy Dzinziruk in under eight rounds in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Again impressing the masses watching HBO, Martinez dropped his Ukrainian foe a total of five times before referee Arthur Mercante Jr. mercifully halted the action.
<--- Slideshow: 'Maravilla' Martinez stops Sergiy Dzinziruk in eight rounds
Dzinziruk came into the bout as the WBO junior middleweight champion of the world and had never tasted defeat nor the canvas prior to tangling with Martinez. Add to it Martinez’s clutch victories over Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik last year and we have one of the sport’s hottest talents on our hands.
Having recently turned 36 years old, Martinez realizes that time is of the essence and has no plans of slowing down. In disposing of yet another world-class southpaw, Martinez admits he was given a different look last night.
“I want no easy fights,” Martinez claimed. “[Williams and Dzinziruk] are two different fighters. Paul Williams and Dzinziruk have different tactics. Dzinziruk is a very smart fighter but I beat him at his own game – the jab. It was supposed to be a tactical fight.”
For the past year people in the sport have flirted with the idea of fellow pound-for-pound stalwarts Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finding a way to meet Martinez in the ring but it simply doesn’t seem realistic at this point. Both Floyd and Manny have briefly held titles in the junior middleweight division but anything above 147 for either seems like a stretch.
Keeping interest in either fight going, Martinez did note that he would be willing to move down to 154 pounds if a clash of such magnitude arose.
A few months back I had a quick talk with Martinez’s manager Sampson Lewkowicz who confirmed that he had met up with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum about the possibility of a Martinez-Cotto clash later in the year. Cotto now looks to be in line for a second crack at Antonio Margarito but Martinez doesn’t want to be forgotten either.
?Cotto would be a good fight,” he continued. “I just want to fight the best. If Cotto is man enough, he will ask to fight.”
It’s a pretty glorious time for Sergio Martinez but things would be bittersweet if he isn’t able to land the type of lucrative fights that only the world’s best are capable of getting. With no huge names standing out at 160 pounds it could be a bit of a struggle but Sergio Martinez is ready to make it happen.
?I will not stop until I am recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.?
