?I?m not planning to defend the WBC Diamond belt anymore,? stated a defiant Sergio Martinez at a press conference earlier today in his native Argentina. ?I won?t ever represent the WBC ever again, until the WBC makes the fight they ordered at the WBC convention [against Chavez]. They won?t honor their own agreement. I hate the coward [nature] that Chavez Jr. displays, as well as his coach Freddie Roach, and his promoter Bob Arum, for avoiding me every day. I never thought a world champion could avoid someone this way.?
Sergio Martinez has every right in the world to be furious. That he?s standing up to the political nonsense that drives boxing fans crazy, is refreshing.
Now, for a quick refresher on how this mad world started for Sergio.
In April 2010, Sergio Martinez dominated the division?s lineal champion Kelly Pavlik to win the WBC and WBO middleweight championships. Ring Magazine had also recognized Kelly Pavlik as their champion, so Sergio took on that distinction as well. Not long after, Sergio was curiously stripped of the WBO?s version of the title, for then he had still not decided if he would stay at 154 (where he held the WBC?s version of the championship at that weight), or if he would make the permanent move to 160. Considering a bylaw of the WBO wherein that if a WBO champion who wins a ?non-WBO championship? in another weight class different from weight class that which he holds his WBO championship, he has to decide within 10 days of the ?non-WBO championship? which title in which weight class he will look to continue to retain with the intention to defend. Although Martinez wanted an exception to be made that would give him more time, it wasn?t granted. I wonder if that had to do with the fact that a short time later, the WBO?s vacant belt was ridiculously put up for grabs in a fight between unproven prospects Danny Jacobs (of Golden Boy Promotions) and Dmitry Pirog. Well, Pirog rained on Golden Boy and Danny?s parade, knocking him out with ease, taking the hardware back to Russia. The fact that Golden Boy even thought they had a champion in Jacobs to crown, and that Martinez was still recognized by Ring Magazine (which is owned by Golden Boy)?was mildly amusing.
