Sudden thought after Sergio Martinez’s brilliant performance Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in which he was the matador and treated game Matthew Macklin like a hapless bull: If the 37 year old Argintinean keeps performing with such ring wizardry, the debate will begin, or maybe it began with his skewering of Macklin. Maybe Sergio isn’t going to remain lodged in the media and public consciousness as the third best pound for pound boxer etxant. Maybe it’s time, or time is drawing nigh, for the former biycle racer to be placed in front of either or both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in the P4P listings. A bold statement from my pen, perhaps, but Martinez shook a sluggish start to brutally close the show, causing referee Eddie Cotton to halt the bout before the 12th and final round. And this topic won’t go away anytime soon, won’t be as ephemeral as a Herman Cain run for the White House. When Mayweather fights Miguel Cotto on May 5 and Pacman battles Tim Bradley on June 9, the American and the Filipino will see their efforts compared to this Scintillating Sergio showing in the smaller room adjacent to the proper Garden.
To immediately fuel the fires, the Martinez camp brightly made a public post fight pitch to “Money” to fight Sergio with an 80-20 financial split. I mean, how does Mayweather spin that one, by laughingly saying, no, it would have to be 90-10 in his favor? Chances are Martinez never sees either Floyd or Manny in the opposite corner, primed to cross gloves with the southpaw who capitalized on every mistake Macklin made. But, make no mistake, Sergio’s stock is climbing, moving high anfd fast like shares of Apple. The conversation has begun and the chatter will continue. Is Martinez the real P4P king and does he now have Floyd and/or Manny eating his dust? Martinez is special and he may be getting better at age 37. Could it be, could Mayweather and Pacquiao now be competing for second place? What say you aficionados of the fistic arts?
