Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas pretty much signaled the last time that WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez could formally exchange words with one another before their grudge match on Saturday night inside of the Thomas & Mack Center.
Set to be televised by HBO pay per view, Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez will be a fascinating contrast of styles and there certainly was some tension in the air as the two men took shots at one another as they spoke inside of the Encore Theatre at the Wynn Resort.
Taking to the dais first, the 37-year old Martinez addressed Chavez?s claims that he is a ?ballerina? and noted that his skillset will allow him to break the young champion down.
?This is good enough to break his face a thousand times,? Martinez stated through his advisor Sampson Lewkowicz. ?It will not be an easy knockout; I will punish him a lot. I hope that somebody in your corner, your doctor, your team, makes sure that they stop the fight because I will never stop it. I will continue punishing you.?
Moments later, the 26-year old Chavez took the spotlight, specifically bringing up Martinez?s rough patches during his fight with Antonio Margarito, who stopped him in seven rounds in February of 2000 at the Mandalay Bay on the undercard of the first Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera card.
?I have seen him in the tapes, when he has been knocked down or knocked out and he looked pretty good,? Chavez said with sarcasm. ?I don?t know how he?s going to beat me.?
At this point, it became obvious that all of the pre-fight talk has irritated the Sinaloa, Mexico native just a little bit.
?The beautiful thing is, he only talks bullsh*t,? Chavez continued. ?He says he?s the best fighter but the time of the fight he?s only running and running He doesn?t fight for the people and he doesn?t fight for the sport.?
The time for talk is over come Saturday.
