We’re already under two months in time from the highly anticipated Middleweight Championship match between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez on HBO Pay-Per-View on September 15th, in Las Vegas. Already hard in preparation and home from the press conference tour that took place; Sergio Martinez took some time out and was a recent guest on ThaBoxingVoice.com’s radio show last night.
Certainly this is the biggest, and should be the most lucrative fight in Martinez’ career. Being the B-side of the pay-per-view and fighting out of the blue corner, Martinez knows he had to agree to certain things that may make him uncomfortable, seemingly the random testing for drugs conducted by VADA, USADA, or WADA. “I’m not worried but I’m not comfortable because Chavez Jr did test positive for diuretic before and there were doubts that he has been tested in his last 2 fights. But honestly, if I would have asked for extra testing, I don’t think we would have a fight,” Martinez told ThaBoxingVoice.com.
This has been one of the fights Martinez has been chasing for a long time. Certainly he feels its justice for him because he will be fighting for the belt that he never lost in the ring. He also feels that justice need not be served by the judges that night, in regards to a decision that might not go his way because of the shaky year the Nevada State Athletic Commision has had this year. Martinez says, “ I won’t need the Vegas judges because my two hands and punches will be the judges. I’m not leaving it to the judges, I’m knocking him out.”
Martinez has been a confident fighter throughout the promotion, proclaiming knockout at every stop of the media tour. His reasoning is simple; Chavez has never been hit by an elite fighter like him. However, Chavez has displayed a chin and the weight factor fight night might play a role in the way Chavez takes Martinez’ punches. Sergio isn’t concerned however and stated, “It won’t be a problem, and I don’t care how much he weighs. He’s getting knocked out.”
Many had doubts that this fight would ever take place and people felt it would only happen as soon as people thought Martinez was slipping in his fight game. The last two times we seen Martinez, he hasn’t been as marvelous as we seen in the past. We asked Martinez if that may have been the reasoning that Team Chavez took the fight and his response was, “While not looking completely sensational against (Darren) Barker and (Matthew) Macklin, I still knocked them out proving I’m an elite fighter. Is that why he took the fight? I don’t know. But I do know he took this fight because he needs credibility in his career. He needs credibility because no one believes he’s the champion. And now that the promotion he’s taken place, he can’t miss this date.”
It’s a can’t miss date on the boxing calendar. Should Martinez win, it certainly puts him in a great position to become a bigger star. He feels things are coming into place and certain things are coming into fruition. He has even taken the steps to learn English to possibly have more crossover appeal in the states. At the age of 37, Martinez is still in his prime but how much of that prime he has left, one must wonder. So you can understand why Martinez wants the big money fights. Although he doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon, he was one ultimate goal before he does. “Floyd Mayweather; that’s the ultimate goal and dream fight for me,” said Martinez.
While he looks forward, he still doesn’t forget the past. Martinez made his stamp on boxing with his fights against Paul “The Punisher” Williams; one was a fight of the year candidate, the other was the knockout of the year in 2010 when Martinez landed a vicious overhand left that sent Williams to the canvas, knocking him out cold. With the recent tragedy of Paul Williams’ paralyzed status due to a motorcycle accident, Martinez has been in contact with Williams and had this to say, “I talked to Paul and although he won’t be walking me to the ring that night, he certainly will be joining me in the ring and sitting ringside.” Quite a gesture and respect from two combatants that trade punches in the ring.
For Full Audio of this interview click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/07/22/sergio-martinez-ronald-cruz-and-gennady-golvokin
