By John F. McKenna (McJack): Once again Sergio Martinez AKA “Maravilla” (47-2-2, 26 KO’s) was very impressive in his fight last Saturday night against Sergei Dzinziruk AKA “Razor” (37-1, 23 KO’s). Dzinziruk was undefeated coming into the fight shown on HBO on March 12, 2011 and was thought to be a legitimate test for Martinez after coming off a 10th round TKO over Daniel Dawson in May 2010.

Sergei has a reputation for being a good boxer with a great jab and had never been knocked down in both his amateur and professional careers.

Martinez was catapulted into the limelight when he scored a unanimous decision over WBO/WBC Champion Kelly Pavlik in April 2010. Martinez used his superior hand speed and better foot movement to win against Pavlik, who at times appeared to be confused by Martinez’s ability to move in and out quickly and land rapid combinations. There were some who questioned whether Pavlik was up to par in that fight because of alleged personal problems. There was a wait and see attitude by many who wanted to see more of the new and improved Martinez.

On November 20, 2010 Sergio again faced Paul Williams. Williams had won a decision over Sergio in 2009. Both fighters sincerely believed that they had won the first fight. Since that time Martinez has shown a marked improvement. Sergio exudes tremendous confidence in his ability and seems to improve with each outing. His speed and ring generalship coupled with his mental toughness and competitiveness, make him a worthy adversary. Martinez is now in the position that other fighters are not all that keen on fighting him for fear of losing out on a more lucrative match. When Martinez squared off with Williams for the second time on November 20, 2010 there was no reason to believe that this would not be another great fight. Williams appeared to have a bright future and was in very good shape for the fight. He too exhibited a great deal of confidence. Martinez’s handlers however, had noticed what they perceived to be a flaw in Williams style and they set out to exploit that flaw. What they noticed was that Williams would swarm in on his opponents, using his size (6’3”) to overwhelm them. His handlers also noticed that when Williams did this he was open to being countered by a left hook. Martinez went to work in training to exploit Williams weakness and it paid off with a stunning two round KO.

Going into the March 12, 2011 fight, both Martinez and Dzinziruk were confident that victory would be theirs. It was evident from the outset that Martinez was consistently out jabbing his taller foe. In addition “Maravilla” seemed to be able to move in and out at will on his opponent without getting tagged. Sergei did not have an antidote as how to handle the quickness of Martinez. As the fight progressed into the middle rounds and Martinez opened up a six round lead it became clear that “Razor” was going to need a knockout to win. At times Dzinziruk did not appear as though he belonged in the same ring with Martinez. “Razor’s” most notable punch, his jab was nullified by Martinez’s quickness and his head movement. Even when Martinez dropped his hands to his sides Dzinziruk was unable to capitalize and land anything meaningful. Razor would be knocked down for the first time in his career in the fourth round and four more knockdowns would follow before the fight was awarded to Martinez by a TKO.

Martinez fought an intelligent fight, using a combination of speed, timing and strategy to defeat his completely outclassed opponent.

There is little doubt now, after Sergio Martinez’s impressive victories over Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and Sergei Dzinziruk that he is the real deal. He is a fighter to be reckoned with and a formidable foe for any opponent.