Sergio Martinez: Between a rock and a hard place

By Boxing News - 10/05/2011 - Comments

Image: Sergio Martinez: Between a rock and a hard placeBy John F. McKenna (McJack): World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO’s) fresh off of an 11th round KO over British fighter Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KO’s) last Saturday night is no closer to landing the big money fight he so desperately wants.

Martinez is a good fighter and a classy fighter. In essence he is the type of fighter many boxing fans want to see. Unfortunately “Maravilla” is a late bloomer and at the age of 36 his chances of landing a big money fight are diminishing rapidly.

In his efforts to land the type of fight he wants Sergio faces a major dilemma. The dilemma being that he fights at middleweight. It’s ironic that at one time middleweight was the glamour division in boxing. It’s not that way any more. Currently there is no fighter at middleweight who is a major box office attraction for Sergio to engage.

In order for Martinez to land a money fight he either has to move up or down in weight.
Martinez typically weighs in for a fight at around 158 pounds as he did against Barker, but by ring time he rehydrates up to the 165. That is where the problem lies in facing Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather would fall into the same category, but Floyd is so paranoid about protecting his “O” that it is unlikely he would ever agree to a fight with someone as dangerous as Martinez. Floyd can fight someone like Victory Ortiz who sometimes breaks down mentally and still bring in 35 million dollars for himself. Pardon the pun, but for “Money” it’s all about money. He does not need Sergio Martinez.

Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have already said that “Pacman” is not going to step up in class yet again. Manny routinely fights at 145 pounds and is comfortable fighting at that weight. Pacquiao started out fighting at 105 pounds and has moved up eight weight divisions in the last fifteen years. When Manny fought Antonio Margarito in November 2010 he totally dominated him. But the fact remains that Pacquiao was facing a much larger opponent. After the weigh in for his bout with Manny, Antonio had rehydrated up to the point where he outweighed his foe by 17 pounds by fight time. And even though he administered a savage beating to Margarito, Pacman conceded later that he was hurt by his much larger opponent’s blows. Pacquiao and Roach insist that they will not make that mistake again.

Sergio has called out Manny on numerous occasions, but it appears highly unlikely that a Martinez – Pacquiao fight will ever happen. Sergio’s only other option is to move up in class. But that too is not as easy as it may appear. It is rumored that the ageless wonder, Bernard Hopkins offered to fight Martinez at 170 pounds. In between fights Sergio normally weighs around 165 pounds. If he were to fight Hopkins, Bernard would rehydrate up to about 180 pounds, making that option unappealing.

In the twilight of his career Sergio does not have the luxury of being able to wait around until future superstar Saul Alvarez has matured enough to face him. It is easy to understand why Martinez, with age creeping up on him is frustrated.



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