By Jhonny Gonzalez
Pablo Sarmiento, the trainer of WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (50-2-2-, 28KOs), believes his fighter will knock Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32KOs) out in a planned November rematch. Martinez dominated their September fight, but Chavez came on in the twelfth and final round to nearly stop the Argentine boxer.
Chavez claims Martinez is trying to avoid a rematch. Sarmiento denies that. He says their side is also very interested in a rematch because Martinez wants to set things straight for what happened in the final round. Sarmiento feels his fighter was unable to get a knockout in the first fight because of several pre-existing injuries. A few weeks after the fight, Martinez had surgery on his right knee.
“We also want the second fight, because, first of all, Julius Cesar Chávez earned the right to get the rematch with [his performance in the final round of the] fight, and our entire team wants it to happen. I believe that Sergio, in a new fight, would beat Chavez by knockout," Sarmiento said.
Martinez will face Martin Murray on April 27th in Argentina. Chavez will appear next month before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to receive his punishment for testing positive for marijuana following the Martinez fight. Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions want to bring Chavez back in May.
