Andre Ward is once again all the range in the super middleweight division after a thorough boxing lesson he gave to Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez, while Gennady Golovkin has become the name du jour at 160 lbs. Forgotten is Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez, and promoter Lou DiBella has had enough of the slights.
"F-k people who are counting out Sergio Martinez," DiBella raged. "He's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. F--k HBO's pound-for-pound list for not having him on it anymore. Sergio Martinez is still one of the best fighters in the world."
For many, the reasons for Martinez's slip on pound-for-pound rankings are due to frequent injuries, including the litany of bumps and bruises he sustained in his most recent fight against Martin Murray. Fighting the likes of Murray, however, is a big reason DiBella feels he should be respected.
"Murray was a real guy and Sergio beat him. [Darren] Barker's a world champion and Sergio knocked him out. [Matthew] Macklin's one of the best middleweights in the world and Sergio knocked him out. Sergio's done everything and beat everyone put in front of him."
Martinez is hoping he will beat another boxing star, Miguel Cotto, the next time he steps in the ring. Currently, Cotto is debating between a fight with Martinez, which would offer him a shot at the middleweight strap and a title in a fourth weight class, and an eight-figure offer from Golden Boy Promotions to take on Canelo Alvarez.
If Cotto decides to take on Canelo, "Maravilla" has extended another offer to Marco Antonio Rubio.
"We've already made Rubio a firm proposal to go to Argentina. Unfortunately, the broadcasters who make the fights in the United States, HBO, is not interested (in the fight)," Martinez's adviser Sampson Lewkowicz said. "For that reason the fight has to be in South America. Sergio promised (WBC president Jose) Sulaiman that he would do his mandatory fight. In Argentina they love the idea of (Martinez facing) a Mexican, so it's all geared for that fight. Hopefully in 30 days we can specify the date. In 24 hours we can have a sell out."
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