By Mark Vester
WBA junior middleweight champ Daniel Santos says that his promoter, Don King, jumped the gun by announcing that he accepted a deal to fight Sergio Martinez, the WBC-interim champ, as part of an HBO televised triple-header on February 14.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno, Santos was out of shape and needed more time to prepare for the bout with Martinez. Santos has personally confirmed the information. Santos says that because his previously scheduled fight [January 3] fell through, he stopped training and would never have been able to get ready in time.
"I've been going on a month without training because the fight that I had scheduled in January was canceled. A month of training is not sufficient. I am not the type of boxer who accepts a fight at the last minute to save an event for a sum of money. I deserve a little more [respect] than that. I am a three time world champion," Santos told Primera Hora.
Santos is hoping that King can reschedule the fight with Martinez for March. Santos may not get what he wants. Sampson Lewkowicz, the agent for Martinez, told BoxingScene that he plans to secure an HBO-approved replacement by January 14. If he fails, he will ask the WBC to schedule a purse bid for Martinez's mandatory shot at Vernon Forrest.
"[In March] it can be against Martínez or someone else, but I want a reasonable amount of time [to train]. I have maintained my running and I'm already going to start training," Santos said.
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