On Wednesday afternoon, inside of the Wynn Las Vegas, the second press stop for the upcoming Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Sergio Martinez middleweight duel took place. Chavez defends his WBC middleweight belt against the slick Argentinean southpaw inside of the Thomas & Mack Center in an HBO pay-per-view attraction that has been creating great interest.
This is a fight that the 37-year old Martinez has been longing for and he admits at yesterday?s Los Angeles conference, he had the urge to attack Chavez on the spot.
?I believe that I needed patience not to hit him,? Martinez would tell me shortly before Wednesday?s presser. ?Because I already have a lot of hunger to hit him.?
Closely by Chavez?s side this tour has been his father, the great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Having gone on a prolific run during his own professional foray that saw him with titles in three weight classes while registering 107 wins, Senior has also made his presence known during the pre-fight hoopla by ripping into Martinez?s camp.
Asked if he has taken offense to Chavez?s bold proclamations, Martinez shrugged off the early trash talk.
?No, I believe he just has a big mouth,? Martinez continued. ?He has a big problem.?
A year ago, a Chavez-Martinez fight would have been looked at as a slight mismatch in favor of Sergio, yet the young champion from Sinaloa, Mexico has improved leaps and bounds under trainer Freddie Roach and is coming off of an impressive 7th round TKO battering of Andy Lee last month in El Paso, Texas. Martinez, on the other hand, has struggled a bit in his recent stoppage victories over Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, making people wonder if he is slowing down just a bit.
The doubters only seem to be fueling Martinez at this point.
?If they believe that I?m weaker, older, or that I don?t have what it takes to beat him, it?s a big mistake. He is just taller, but I?m bigger,? Martinez insisted.
Some lively talk from one of the world?s best. September 15th can?t come soon enough.
