Article on my favorite current boxer....

Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez!

I feel sometimes he doesn't get the credit he's due, you can't name a more exciting "fight all comers and leave none behind" than Sergio. Throughout his entire career he's tested himself, been frank and honest in the media about boxing and its politics and produced some stunning displays of boxing. Boxing a little myself (insert jokes here) I appreciate his style, he's really shown over the years and evolution of the way we view boxers. You can't name another boxer who's gone on record being so critical of the way boxing is run:

"I hate the cowardice that Chavez has taken on, as well as that of his coach, Freddie Roach, and Bob Arum in avoiding every day the fight with me and promoting him as a champion in the boxing world, which is a lie. I never thought that a world champion would avoid somebody this way, Unfortunately, this sort of attitude can hurt our sport."

"I’m not planning to defend the WBC diamond belt anymore, the only title I’m going to defend from now on is the title I won after beating Kelly Pavlik, the Ring Magazine title. I won’t ever represent the WBC ever again, until the WBC makes the fight they ordered at the WBC convention against Chavez."

Basically making a mockery of the fact that he was made "Diamond" champion rather than to face Sulaiman’s nephew.

Now looking at his career, you have to say the loss to Margarito was a badly managed mistake. He was stepped up in class too early, after dealing with his opposition to that date in easy fashion. The lure of the bright lights of Vegas and the fact Margarito was by that point a experienced boxer who would quickly go on to win Welterweight belts proved a slight stumbling block in what was until that point a promising looking career. So he went back to Argentina, determined and ready to gain the experience to make a splash on the world scene. Bear in mind, he started boxing at 20 years old, he started very late so he needed more fights before he had the skills and experience to fight at the top level. He took himself to Spain where he built up a large fanbase, beating the likes of Oppong (an Olympic gold medallist) and then came over to our shores, beating Richard Williams twice, and Adrian stone for the lightly regarded IBO Light-Middleweight title.

Back to Spain, he won the Latino title, proving himself to be among the elite when he beat the fancied Saul Roman within 4 rounds, after fighting a good number of international boxers.
This proved to be his moment, as he was finally signed to fight in America on some of the undercards in New York and Vegas. He took this opportunity with both hands, beating his opposition easily.

His massive step came when he faced Kermit Cintron. He proved he was ready by effectively winning the fight (it was declared an MD as 2 cards read 113 – 113 and the other 116 – 110 to Martinez which was a more reflective card in my opinion) also, Cintron was counted out in round 7 yet the fight continued. This was basically Martinez’s coming out party. He’d finally stepped up to World Level with the experience he needed against a truly fancied opponent and at times made him look amateur. As Vernon Forrest was forced to vacate, Martinez was recognised as the full WBC Light-Middleweight champion.

In his next fight, Martinez proved his mettle by taking on the avoided Paul Williams in what was a thrilling (none title) fight. The scorecards were close, very close in a fight that I could watch over and over, seeing Martinez picking his shots more carefully yet Williams trying his utmost with pure output. The cards were close, with Williams nicking a majority decision, something Martinez felt was unfair, and I’m with him – as I had the card 115 – 113 with 2 even.

Pavlik was set to fight Williams next, however he pulled out of the fight, and was then matched against Martinez. Some feel that Pavlik underestimated Martinez. I don’t think that at all. I think Martinez was there. He just wanted it more. He was the better boxer on the night and pulled of an upset after being knocked down mid way through the fight. Martinez can take shots, but he was not immune to being hit and doesn’t have the best chin. He went on to dominate and obscure Pavliks vision by relentlessly working on the cuts above Pavliks eyes to win a well earned decision.

Martinez was then regarded as the number 1 middleweight in the world, holding the Ring, WBC and WBO titles. He was forced to vacate his Light-Middleweight title due to the politics that he may not hold titles in multiple weight divisions as he must choose his weight. When he failed to decide, he was stripped of the WBO Middleweight title and then decided to remain at Middleweight and kept The Ring and WBC Titles. Effectively vacating the WBC Light Middleweight title.

His next fight was a rematch against Paul Williams, who had recently beaten former opponent Cintron in controversial circumstances, Cintron falling out of the ring and not being allowed to continue. Williams was ahead on the scorecards and declared the winner. So the rematch was set. In what was a complete shock, Martinez destroyed Williams in the second round with a left hand that would knock a horse to the floor. Williams had never lost by knockout before, being regarded as a tough customer. Martinez destroyed the myth with one punch. Such is boxing.

After being “upgraded” to the WBC Diamond Title, with Chavez Jr being made the champion by beating Zbik, he defended the title once against Dzinziruk with a knockout in the 8th and then dropped it. If you read the quote earlier, you’d see why. He was incensed that he wasn’t allowed to fight Chavez Jr, a fight he wanted to prove himself as the top Middleweight once more. As he chased the fight, he had to beat some local lads who were stepping up in class in Barker and Macklin – two late KO’s. He gave them their deserved shot and outclassed them both, showing he was the best Middleweight, prepared to face anyone – Barker being undefeated and Macklin in many peoples eyes, beating Sturm only to fall foul of a hometown decision.

Then the fight that he wanted. Chavez Jr. In the build up Martinez wasn’t his cool calm self. He was angry. Angry at the WBC, its President, Freddie Roach and Chavez himself. He regarded them as cowards and bad for the sport. It was well known that Chavez Jr was a freak of nature in his ability to get down to the middleweight level and then appear as a light heavy/cruiser on fight night. Martinez didn’t care and outclassed him over 12 rounds. He nearly fell foul of his chin issues in the last round, but got up and fought back the way he does. Like a warrior.

I wish boxing had more Martinez’s. I don’t see any boxer out there who’ll beat him. GGG hasn’t faced anything like Martinez, and Geale while being a great boxer I feel just doesn’t have the speed and tenacity to do anything to Martinez that his previous opponents couldn’t. His biggest opponent will be father time, but judging by his speed against Chavez Jr – its not coming too soon. We’ll see when he faces Murray, but I can honestly say that P4P I regard Martinez among the top 3 and he’s deserved it.

He’s mentioned he wants to face Ward and has mentioned he’ll step up in weight to do it.

My god, what a fight.

Its not going to be a fight Ward will treat martinez like a bitch. Its like hopkins trinidad all over again.

So Shah, I take it you read the first and last lines of the post. Ta.

I dont disagree with the rest of it, just the last bit.

As long as you read it :p my first real sole boxer article so I'm.... apprehensive!

Martinez would get to Ward, he gets to everyone, it'd be a cracking fight. I'd say Ward would win too, but still it'd be his closest fight to date.

In the grand scheme of things Martinez would fare worse than Kessler, Froch, Abraham and Dawson. In reality it would be an easy nights work for Ward who is a step above as well as being a fair bit bigger.

I don't see how you can say Ward is a step up from Martinez who is a much better boxer than Froch or Kessler, he is not in their ilk. Defensively he is sound, can be tagged occasionally but Ward wouldn't have the power to trouble him. He may not have the power Froch and Kessler have, but he's much faster and a much more accomplished 12 round boxer with better fitness.

Couldn't disagree more.

Ward has beaten four genuinely world class boxers and lost a handful of rounds against them, it wasn't that long ago that Martinez was struggling with Macklin and Barker. If we drop the sill hyperbole for a bit you may realise that there's not many more accomplished 12 round fighters than Froch who went the distance in 7 straight world title fights (14 seconds against Taylor aside). Ward has been mixing in better company who are almost better in every way to Martinez opposition, I personally wouldn't give him a chance against Froch let alone Ward he's too small and despite your protestations would be hurt and stopped by both. His vulnerabilities are there for all to see and against the bigger better fighters he'd be under more pressure than he's had before.

Cracking article, Jabby.

I'm also a big admirer of Martinez and, to be honest, I'd question what more people could want from or ask of our fighters if they're not admirers themselves. He's a credit to the sport.

His showing against Chavez (for eleven rounds at least!) was a truly satisfying sight and, while it's a terrible shame his career came to a premature end, the subsequent showings of Williams in his bouts against Lara and Ishida after colliding for a second time against Sergio suggest to me that the devastating knockout at the hands of the man from Argentina had taken a fair bit out of 'The Punisher.'

Always going to be a division choc-full of talent and greats, is Middleweight, but Martinez has certainly done enough to command a favourable place in the history of the 160 lb weight class for me, and has carved his name in to the legend of it to some degree.

That said, I'd much rather see him in with Golovkin than Ward. Sergio and Di Bella have been talking about trying to lure Mayweather in to a Light-Middleweight fight for a while now and have even talked about going as low as 150 lb for it.

However, there is another caveat; not only is Ward a bit too big for Sergio right now, he's also a bit too good for him as well, I think. Both genuine pound for pounders, but as you say there are small chinks appearing in Martinez's armour and right now, with the form he's in, Ward will just turn them in to gaping holes, as he did against Kessler, as he did against Froch, as he did against Dawson. Martinez was hard to get to for thirty-three minutes against Chavez, but let's be frank, Chavez was lacking in any meaningful movement for the most part and was reluctant to let the shots go for fear of being countered. I seriously doubt that Martinez can keep Ward on the outside like that and, even if he does, it'd be asking a fair bit for Martinez to carry his power up to 168 lb against a man who won Olympic gold as a Light-Heavyweight.

I think Ward would stop Martinez late on. However, if Martinez doesn't go up to 168 lb, I wouldn't blame him at all and it'd be the sensible route to take in fact, for my money. Still, it depends how much Martinez wants a bumper pay day. That said, we've seen enough examples to know that, if weight gain is handled properly and you and your trainer come up with the perfect game plan, the odds and scales can be upset. There will be something that unsettles Ward somewhere out there, even if it's only to a small degree, and who knows? Maybe Martinez has it, and Ward isn't exactly awash with big, viable fights right now.

I don't think he can topple Ward, but I'd certainly tune in to see him attempt it.

Nevertheless, he's a worthy Middleweight champion and if he can account for Golovkin before he retires, and the Kazakh goes on to subsequenty achieve what I (and many others) think he's capable of afterwards, he may just end up being called a great one.

Going to agree with Ghosty here, Martinez is just too small to be effective at 168

Sure he's a very good fighter but I feel that he is very much on the downside. Barker and Macklin are 2 fighters who shouldn't be causing Martinez as many problems as they did. Ward (and Froch) have been dominating the super middleweight equilivants of those 2. Chavez was very good but Chavez was rubbish and lucky to be champ, and yet still it almost all came undone when Martinez gassed and his resilience wore out

Very good fighter and given that he gave chances to the Brits and Dzinzuruk and how he baited Chavez of ducking I hope he fights Golovkin as he is as deserving as the 5 mentioned. He may well beat GGG but at this time he is the biggest threat and Martinez doenst want that fight

I may have been overly harsh but whilst being better pound for pound than Kessler or Froch, I don't think he'd be as good a 168lber as either.

Nice read, and I too am a fan of Maravilla. He has a pleasing style, attitude and he's damn good at what he does.

However I do feel, him being a former welterweight and Ward probably being perfectly capable of fighting at 175 he wouldn't do much to Andre. I don't buy that it would be like Hopkins v Trinidad as Trinidad's style was made for Hopkins, whereas Sergio's would be tricky for anyone.

Ward would simply be good enough to see it all coming, and a good enough athlete to avoid it all and do his own damage relatively comfortably. 168 stands head and shoulders above the divisions which sandwich it in terms of talent, to the extent I wouldn't pick the numbero unos at 160 or 175 to be in the top three at 168. As much as I love Martinez, can anybody really see him lasting into the championship rounds vs Froch right now?

Martinez is without a doubt a great athlete, but he'd need all of that athletic ability to really make a fight of things against Ward, and I don't think he has it all left.

Two reasons he should fight GGG
1. Say Golovkin is as good as I think he is right now, if Martinez loses then Golovkin goes on to dominate the division for a while then people will give him credit for taking a fight nobody wanted and people will acknowledge he was past his best by then, yeah prime Martinez takes him. And if he wins, retires and Golovkin goes on to dominate the division Martinez' stock will rise post retirement with each GGG KO victory.

2. Say Golovkin isn't as good as I (and many others) think, Martinez may as well school him while his stock is at its highest.

Thanks for the replies lads, I admit Ward would probably beat Martinez, but given that Williams was the man to avoid and he was just as tall (if not taller) than Ward, I think it would maybe be closer than you imagine. Different boxers of course, but the same applies, everyone thought Ward was a machine until he went the distance with Martinez. I just think maybe he has the style to trouble Ward, as he's clever - great ring smarts.

I'd love to see him take on Golovkin but I can't see Golovkin actually doing much right now. Martinez loves punchers, Chavez was one and he took him to school for 11 rounds. Iron chin kept him up, we haven't seen GGG tested to that extreme, yet.

I'm a big fan of Froch, but I think Martinez handles him well. He's not the type to go to war as he sometimes appears, if he's drawn into a trade-off you'll see him slip move and get the hell out of there while digging away on the back foot, something Froch nor Kessler can do.

I'd love to see him against Mayweather too, I think Mayweather would find him the biggest test of his career to date, Cotto isn't as good at what Martinez does, and he was finding Mayweather with alarming regularity in the later stages of their fight. Perhaps it was a disregard for his power but still - a sign that he can be hit.

I'll probably be writing something else soon so I'm glad this was appreciated - I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable about boxers pre 90's as some of you guys so I've done this as something I can contribute with

He's just too small and lacking in enough power to trouble Froch or Kessler, both would walk him down fairly easily, not a slight on his talents but if Chavez could get to him then they both do it a lot sooner and a lot more effectively.

going up is not advisable for martinez, i think he has found his best weight where he is now. i think he deserves the mayweather fight, and its one he wins for me, but would be a amazing fight.

5 out of 10 for article.

Martinez is good at what he does but his age will be a factor for him in the next couple of years.

Good article, Martinez has paid his dues and fully deserves his high standing. Ward would be a bad fight for him, I don't think at this stage in his career he could really trouble Ward who appears slap bang in the middle of his prime. Martinez has always been good at avoiding punches, but he's not as difficult to hit as is sometimes made out. I think the combination of Ward's age, size and defensive advantages would be a fair bit too much, I don't actually think it would be particularly close. Golovkin I can see him beating. People have talked up Golovkin's footwork, which looks good fundamentally, but I think he actually looks a little pedestrian. Golovkin also looks defensively sound, but is definitely hittable for an accurate boxer like Martinez. I think Martinez should hang at middleweight until his retirement and see off Pirog and Golovkin, not sure it's advisable to go back down the weights whilst approaching 40 and the 2 names mentioned are good, undefeated fighters who would represent an excellent end to a fine career.

Golovkin and Pirog would cement his legacy beyond any doubt, he goes from being a very good middleweight into being a great one.

Pavlik, Williams, Dzinziruk, Macklin, Barker, Chavez, Murray, Golovkin and Pirog would be a mightily impressive set of wins at the weight.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Golovkin and Pirog would cement his legacy beyond any doubt, he goes from being a very good middleweight into being a great one.

Pavlik, Williams, Dzinziruk, Macklin, Barker, Chavez, Murray, Golovkin and Pirog would be a mightily impressive set of wins at the weight.

Agreed. No need to go hopping weights now.