Last year’s consensus fighter of the year, Argentine middleweight Sergio Martinez, made his initial appearance of 2011 a successful one on March 12 in Connecticut, stopping unbeaten Sergiy Dzinziruk in eight rounds at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket.
The win was the third straight in a stretch that’s seen him win the 160-pound championship with a unanimous decision over incumbent Kelly Pavlik, then both defend that belt and avenge an earlier loss with a crashing second-round KO of multi-division phenom Paul Williams.
The prolonging of momentum also boosts the 36-year-old up two slots – from fourth to second – in the latest installment of The Sports Network’s Top 10 pound-for-pound boxing rankings, released Thursday.
Martinez, now 47-2-2 as a pro with 26 KOs, is second to Filipino export Manny Pacquiao, who’ll defend his WBO welterweight championship against veteran Shane Mosley on May 7 in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao last fought in November, when he dismantled ex-welterweight champ Antonio Margarito over 12 violent rounds at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Dropping a spot apiece due to inactivity are welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2-to-3) and heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko (3-to-4).
Mayweather hasn’t fought since beating Mosley by unanimous decision on May 1, 2000.
A subsequent fight with Pacquiao was hoped for and discussed to at least some length by Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank, but Mayweather has yet to go public with an indication he wants the match.
Klitschko has been twice scheduled to defend his IBF/IBO/WBO heavyweight belts against British challenger Dereck Chisora, but the fight’s been scrubbed twice by a recurring abdominal injury.
He last fought on Sept. 11 and stopped Samuel Peter in 10 rounds.
The champion has been in the news lately for reportedly agreeing to meet WBA title-holder David Haye in an as-yet-unsigned unification match sometime this summer.
Klitschko’s older brother, Vitali, holds on to spot No. 5 after a first-round KO of former Cuban Olympian and previously unbeaten top contender Odlanier Solis on March 19 in Germany, in which he landed a single-shot counter to Solis’s temple and watched his foe tumble to the ground and injure a knee.
The fight was waved off at 2:59 of the first by referee Jose Garcia.
Spots 6 through 10 remain status quo from March to this month, though No. 8 Lucian Bute made an impressive case for promotion with a 10th-round stoppage of Brian Magee in defense of his IBF 168-pound title on March 19 in Montreal.
The win moved Bute to 28-0, was his 23rd by KO and kept him in the running for a potential showdown with WBA champion Andre Ward – ranked a slot ahead of him at No. 7 – who’ll defend his WBA title in the 168-pound class against Arthur Abraham on May 14 in California.
Ward is in the semifinals of the “Super Six” tournament sponsored by Showtime, which also frequently features Bute’s fights on its broadcasts.
Lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez remains at No. 6, while featherweight Juan Manuel Lopez is No. 9 and bantamweight Nonito Donaire is No. 10.
Lopez will be the next of the three to fight, defending his WBO 126-pound title against former champion Orlando Salido on April 16 in Puerto Rico.
