The road to pound-for-pound status has taken Martinez all over the world, fighting in front of hostile crowds in England, Spain, and America. A journey the charismatic South American has reveled in, and one that has forged the formidable boxer "Maravilla" (“Marvelous One”) is today. The team that surrounds Martinez has been in place for eight years (aside from promoter Lou DiBella, who came aboard in 2007), and has created an atmosphere that pulls the best out of their pupil. Trainer Gabriel Sarmiento was glad to have more time to prepare for Pavlik than they did for a Paul Williams fight that was taken on short notice. Martinez was pleased with the camp. “The preparation has been excellent; I feel it’s been the best training camp of my career and it’ll show on April 17th. With the preparation I’ve had, I don’t think Pavlik will be able to keep up. I feel great. I’m on weight; I feel great physically, and I’m motivated mentally.”
The well-preserved 35-year-old southpaw Martinez started boxing at age 20 and imparts a zestful fighting style. He takes chances on defense with a hands-down reflexive style, and exercises rapid-fire darting attacks on offense. Solid punching power is multiplied by the speed and angles from which blows are delivered. Martinez cannot be called heavy-fisted or a banger, but vexing ring generalship infuses his punches with extra sting. At 5’11” with a 76-inch reach, Martinez has good proportions for a middleweight. An excellent all-around athlete, Martinez drew interest from lower-division Argentine soccer teams and was an avid cyclist. Rounded into a two-time amateur national boxing champion, and earned the nickname “Marvelous One” representing Argentina in international competitions. Martinez says of his style, “Anyone who is a lover of the skill of boxing, practiced as an art and similar to fencing, to hit and not be hit, they will have a faithful representative in me.”
Since Martinez is from Argentina, he will draw comparisons to national hero and boxing legend, Carlos Monzon, which Dibella reminds us of at the first opportunity. “I think this is the best fighter to come out of Argentina since Carlos Monzon. I think that great tradition of great Argentine fighters will continue and you’ll have a new world champion. I know we have a very tough night, I believe Martinez will walk out [of the ring] a superstar.” DiBella also made a more relevant observation, “He fights with a style all his own.“ The fighter is a more realistic, in regard to Monzon. ”I always will be behind my idol.” However, Martinez has a crowd-pleasing style; because of that and his swashbuckling looks, Martinez has a crossover appeal few possess. He is well-spoken, despite dropping out of school to earn money for his family, and possessed of a love for the sport. “Boxing is noble. Will, daily motivation, and perseverance in your work are key. Talent may be important, but without the other three, you cannot get anywhere.”
Rarely does a boxer’s reputation increase in a loss, but that is what happened with Martinez, in the wake of the disputed setback to Paul Williams. Martinez accepted it in a gentlemanly fashion, and the subjective defeat has done nothing to curb his ambition. Martinez’s prefight confidence does not fall into the braggart category, such as a Floyd Mayweather, despite positive comments about his preparations and abilities. Martinez is introspective with evaluations. Only well-chosen words on his readiness deliver outward condemnation of an opponent, or their chances of victory. “Kelly Pavlik, he should worry about me in many ways. Speed- which is an abysmal difference between us- the strategy that I will have in the ring that night, and the strength of my punches. Because they will surprise him and hurt him a great deal.“ That is as verbose as Martinez gets, so fans will not be subjected to any prefight shoving matches. In fact, this Wednesday, Martinez could not even pose for the traditional staredown photo without smiling and breaking into laughter.
Sarmiento shares his fighter’s confidence, revealing how preparations have unfolded to respected photojournalist Ricardo Conde. “Camp has been wonderful; having fought Paul Williams just a few months ago really helped Sergio prepare for this fight against Pavlik. After the Williams fight, we got right back into the gym as soon as we knew we were going to fight Kelly Pavlik. We’ve prepared to go the distance with Pavlik.” He also feels Pavlik might have seen his best days. “He’s not the same fighter he once was, so we believe that Sergio’s speed will be the difference in this fight. This is Sergio’s most important fight of his career so far, but it’s not the most difficult.” Sarmiento even ventured a look past this fight, and into Martinez’ future. “Should we get past Pavlik, I’d like to see Sergio take on Antonio Margarito, possibly in the middle of the year, and then Paul Williams at the end of the year.”
Strength and conditioning coach Cicilio Flores is similarly enthused by the training camp they had. Flores is confident Martinez put on the added weight correctly, so as not to affect his speed or stamina negatively. “This has been Sergio’s best preparation; he’s faster than ever, stronger than ever. His nutrition went very well; his training and his sparring was very good, and this has been an almost perfect training camp. I definitely feel that Sergio’s speed and strength will be very noticeable, and we’re definitely going to be looking for that knockout.” There were some minor changes to their routine, mostly concerned with extra strength training, using free weights. At the WBC-mandated prefight weigh-in, a routine check done 30 days before a fight, Martinez registered 168 pounds, well within range of the 160-pound limit. The team trained in the boxing stronghold of Oxnard, California for eight weeks, arriving in Atlantic City on Monday.
Before the Williams fight, some boxing insiders voiced concerns that Martinez was not big enough to compete at middleweight, especially given Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik’s elongated frames. However, what Martinez stated before the Williams fight bore out. “For me, going up in weight really doesn’t affect me. It makes me feel stronger and I know I will still have my speed, so I don’t really see any disadvantages.” Although, Martinez emphasized that he can still make the 154-pound limit, and will return to junior middleweight for the right fight. His rationale for fighting at 160 pounds is admirable. "I decided to stay at middleweight to face Kelly Pavlik because this fight will be the greatest challenge of my career." Martinez is obviously frustrated by his experiences at junior middleweight. “What I found out about boxing is that no one wants to fight anyone who has a chance to beat them. I’m willing to get into the ring with anyone, but today, very few fighters sign the dotted line to face an opponent they consider a threat.”
A logical concern for Team Martinez against the popular Pavlik is judging, since many believe American judges have caused Martinez two victories on his resume. There can be no argument that the Paul Williams fight was close, making judge Pierre Benoist’s 119-110 scorecard an outrage. It was inept at best, corrupt at worst. Martinez also had to settle for a 12-round draw against Kermit Cintron in Florida, after an apparent knockout win was erased by a confused referee. An affable Martinez remains unflustered, refusing to allow others mistakes to affect his mindset. "It absolutely was not frustrating at all. It just made me train that much harder so that no one can take away a victory." Martinez says the Williams bout served a purpose. "I was satisfied with my performance against Williams because I thought we gave the fans a great fight. I lost the decision, but I really felt that the fans and media recognized my performance."
If Martinez captures the lineal world middleweight championship from Pavlik, there is one item he wishes to cross off his ambitious checklist. “I have the dream of being able to fight some day in the Luna Park, the legendary stadium in my country, Argentina. Until then I will say, ‘Hasta la victoria, siempre’ (Until victory, always).” The path to Luna Park passes through Kelly Pavlik tonight.
You can contact Marty at mmulcahey@elpasotel.net or www.facebook.com/fivedogs
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