Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez has been one of my favorite fighters since the first Paul “The Punisher” Williams fight. Even though I wanted to see him win I had him behind by a point. It was one of the best fights in person you could attend. In the rematch though the champion he came into the ring first and greeted by boo’s from the biased Atlantic City crowd for the black fighter in Paul Williams. Martinez set a trap for Williams and when the time was right hit him with a devastating punch knocking Williams out before he hit the canvas! It was over in the first round!
Something happened in the last round of the fight Martinez had with Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. He was well ahead and got dropped in that round and some say twice. He then goes home (Argentina) and by all reports got beat by the UK’s Martin Murray. It was well known that the knees of Martinez were shot. He was ready to be had and it was sad seeing him go out this way. And Miguel “Junito” Cotto had the style to press him to where the knees of Martinez would no longer allow him to set down on his punches or allow his feet to avoid the on rushing Cotto.
Cotto lost 2 of his last 3 fights in the light middleweight division and the WBC had him as their No. 1 middleweight? The WBO had him No. 3 in the light middleweight division. He wasn’t ranked anywhere else. Martinez didn’t have to get the shot at Kelly Pavlik but Top Rank had it with Pavlik’s drinking problems, etc. If he did so poor in losing probably every round to Bernard Hopkins how was he ever going to touch Martinez which he didn’t. So what goes round comes round and he loses his middleweight title to a light middleweight in Cotto.
With Cotto being such a hot commodity in Madison Square Garden a fight with Brooklyn’s Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin the WBO champ would be a natural for unification. IBF champion Felix Sturm loses again this time to a drug free Sam Soliman. Sturm wouldn’t come back to the US after getting ripped off by Oscar De La Hoya whose fight with Hopkins was already signed sealed and delivered.
Soliman will fight anyone anywhere. If they have brought in Daniel “Real Deal” Geale from down under for Gennady “GGG” Golovkin the WBA champion then Soliman could be next. That would be another unification fight with the possibly Cotto and definitely Golovkin for all the belts.
Geale is ranked in all 4 organizations in the top 5. He is ranked No. 3 behind Soliman with No. 2 vacant. He’s also No. 2 behind Cotto in the WBC. He’s No. 5 in the WBO and with their No. 2 getting beat recently will definitely move up in their next ratings. He beat Sturm in Germany.
As one of Golovkin’s sparring partners told me during a telephone interview “He (Golovkin) hits like a heavyweight.” He would go down to 154 to meet Floyd Mayweather and up to 168 to meet Andre Ward. He’s one of the most underrated boxers in the game today because the other champions fear him. Quillan got beat up sparring with him I’m told and though he talks unification don’t look for it to happen real soon! It wouldn’t take much too finally have the only unified division champion!
