By Dan Ambrose: Despite getting knocked out in the 8th round by WBC Emeritus middleweight champion Sergio Martinez on March 12th, WBO junior middleweight champion Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-1, 23 KO’s) may be the best fighter in the division right now. That might not be something that Miguel Cotto fans like to hear but I got to with who looks like the best fighter right now and that’s Dzinziruk. The Ukrainian fought remarkably well against Martinez and held his own until getting knocked out in an entertaining fight.
Cotto would have likely been knocked out in the first four rounds by Martinez unless he decided to run all night. Even then, I can’t see Cotto being able to take Martinez’s big left hands for very long without going down for the count. Dzinziruk has got a great jab and sneaky power. I saw in the Martinez fight was a guy capable of knocking out anyone in the junior middleweight division.
Dzinziruk was out of his element against the stronger Martinez, but he was facing the best fighter in the middleweight division. Dzinziruk was being asked to do a lot by moving up in weight and taking on the best fighter in the middleweight division by far. I don’t know of any junior middleweight that would have lasted as long as Dzinziruk or fought as well as him during the bout.
Dzinziruk got the better of Martinez in the 7th but then made a mistake in the 8th by not keeping his distance. Martinez then flattened him. Dzinziruk will come back from this and start in where he left off by dominating the junior middleweight division. I’d like to seen Cotto step it up and face him but I can’t see that happening. Dzinziruk is a master boxer and I can see Cotto getting a boxing lesson.
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