This Saturday, boxing fans could be in for what could be looked at as the best overall boxing weekend of the year thus far. In this article, I’ll be previewing half of 2 big main events that will be happening this weekend. Boxing fans dreams for days like this where 2 top notch events are on display, as long as they are not on at the same time. In this battle, 2 of the top 10 middleweight fighters in the world will square off as the top 5 pound for pound, and the current WBC Middleweight Champion, Sergio Martinez will face the undefeated Martin Murray, in Martinez’s home country of Argentina.
Sergio Martinez is considered the best middleweight in the world and a top 5 pound for pound fighter in the world. The now 38 year old Argentinean star has been through his share of battles and currently holds a record of 50-2-2 with 28 KOs. Martinez’s only blemishes were a loss very early in his career to great Mexican warrior, Antonio Margarito, and a majority decision loss to Paul Williams, a fight that some had Martinez winning. He later delivered the KO heard around the world in a rematch with Paul Williams in Atlantic City. Sergio has already faced top tier competition at middleweight with his 2 fights against Williams, 1 against Kelly Pavlik, and his last fight against Chavez Jr. His last fight was extremely impressive as he dominated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for 11 rounds before getting knocked down in the 12th, but holding on to get the unanimous decision by a large margin.
Martin Murray is in the conversation, along with Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, for the best UK middleweight fighter in the world. Martinez has already defeated both Barker and Macklin, so I guess now its Murray’s shot. The 30 year old comes into this fight with an undefeated 25-0-1 record with 11 KOs. Unlike Martinez, Murray has only faced 1 person considered a top tier middleweight, and that was a split decision draw with Felix Sturm. Murray hopes to separate himself from his 2 countrymen to defeat Martinez and become the new WBC Champion. Murray only turned pro in 2007 and other than the fight against Sturm, which took place in Germany; this is his only other fight that will be fought outside of the UK. He will be facing an uphill battle as he must face the skill of Martinez, along with what will be a hostile crowd in Martinez’s home country of Argentina.
Sergio Martinez always finds a way to win, even when it’s not pretty. He struggled against both Barker and Macklin, but he was able to stop it before it even got to the cards. He pretty much schooled Chavez Jr. Even though Murray is a very solid boxer and will put up a fight, it’s hard for me to every pick against Sergio Martinez unless he facing someone like Gennady Golovkin. As I said, this one may not be pretty, but when it’s all said and done, hometown advantage, power advantage, and skill advantage, push me towards a Martinez win. So my pick for this one is Sergio Martinez wins a unanimous decision to retain his belt.
The result of this fight will either further continue to add to the legend that is Sergio Martinez or it can jump start the career of Murray. This weekend of fights is definitely not one to miss. No matter what happens, it should be a good fight to watch and I advise all fight fans to take a look in what should be a great weekend of boxing in Argentina and Brooklyn. So everyone should enjoy the fights.
