By Lem Satterfield
BoxingScene.com spoke to southpaw WBC "emeritus" middleweight champion Sergio Martinez for this Q&A one day after Saturday's eighth-round knockout of southpaw WBO junior middleweight belt holder, Sergiy Dzinziruk.
The 36-year-old Martinez (47-2-2, 26 knockouts) discussed not only his strategy over the course of the fight, but, also, his thoughts on eight-division and WBO welterweight king Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), six-time titlist Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), WBA junior middleweight belt holder, Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs), and, super middleweight champions, Lucien Bute (27-0, 22 KOs), Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KOs), and, Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KOs), respectively, of the IBF, WBA and WBC.
Martinez also said that he would consider facing the winner of a June 4, WBC middleweight title bout between Germanany's Sebastian Zbik (30-0, 10 KOs) and Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez (41-0-1, 30 KOs) that is slated for Los Angeles.
Martinez has been declared the WBC's emeritus Champion, essentially stripping the Argentinian-born fighter of the crown he earned against Pavlik. In addition, the WBC elevated Zbik to the status of full champion, mandating that Zbik face Chavez in his first defense.
Martinez dropped and stopped Dzinziruk (37-1, 23 KOs) for the first in Dzinziruk's career, flooring him once each in the fourth and fifth rounds and three times in the eighth.
Martinez has been named the 2010 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, recognition for the fact that he dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) in April as WBO and WBC middleweight champ by unanimous decision, and then scored November's second-round stoppage of southpaw three-time, two-division titlist Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KOs), avenging a December, 2010 majority decision loss during which both fighters were dropped in the first round.
BoxingScene.com: Were you aware that many observers thought that you would have more problems with the jab of Sergiy Dzinziruk than you did?
Sergio Martinez: I'm very satisfied with my performance, especially against a great champion like Sergiy Dzinziruk. I thought that he was a very tough and intelligent fighter. It was not easy, but this was probably one of my best boxing performances of my career.
BoxingScene.com: Do you believe that many people felt that you would also be troubled by the absence, for personal reasons, of your trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, whose brother, Pablo, served as lead corner man on Saturday night?
Sergio Martinez: In regard to my trainer, Gabriel, he's going through some stuff right now. It's some personal stuff, and it's something where he will probably explain that stuff to you guys when he gets back.
But, all is well within the camp. I just ask that you all respect that. It's just a personal thing that he has to handle. But, other than that, things are great for me. It was a great training camp and a great win for my team.
BoxingScene.com: Was there a smooth transition from taking direction from Gabriel Sarmiento to taking it from Pablo Sarmiento against Sergiy Dzinziruk?
Sergio Martinez: Yes, it went well. Pablo has always been a part of the team. I have actually been working with Pablo for a while, you know, since the beginning. Pablo has always been sort of part of the background. He's like the third eye in this whole team concept. We all speak the same language. We all get along.
It's a great relationship and a great team. It's just that, unfortunately, my trainer had to attend to some important things in regard to himself.
BoxingScene.com: How did you manage to out-jab a bonafide jabber like Sergiy Dzinziruk?
Sergio Martinez: It's very simple. It was all timing and rhythm and distance. If you know how to control that, then it becomes simple. That's why they call me by the nickname, 'Marvelous,' you know? I can't reveal or share any more with you about that.
BoxingScene.com: Did you know, going in, in contrast to many boxing experts that you were going to knock out Sergiy Dzinziruk?
Sergio Martinez: I knew, coming into camp, that I had to knock him out. I want to be considered the best fighter in the world, and I knew that in order to be that, this was what was expected of me.
I knew that I had to do it. I trained very hard to get to that point and to accomplish that. I knew that, after the sixth or seventh round, that my punches were really hurting him. I knew that it was just a matter of time after that.
BoxingScene.com: Do you believe that this sort of performance would draw you closer to a potential bout against either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquio after having destroyed a guy who is bigger than each of them?
Sergio Martinez: That's a very, very hard question to answer. That's a question more for them to answer. But I don't know.
BoxingScene.com: Who would you like to consider fighting if a match up against either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao does not come to fruition?
Sergio Martinez: If I can't get Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, then I would definitely like to fight Miguel Cotto or the winner of the fight between Sebastian Zbik and Julio Cesar Chavez.
I would like to fight the winner of Zbik-Chavez and be able to get my title back.
BoxingScene.com: Would you consider rising from middleweight up to super middleweight for potential bouts against WBA champion Andre Ward, IBF king Lucien Bute or WBC titlist Carl Froch or a rematch with Kelly Pavlik?
Sergio Martinez: I would need more time. My body is not that big. I would have to grow more. My body is more accustomed to the junior middleweight ranks of 154 and the middleweights at 160 pounds. I would definitely need to pack on a lot more muscle and to train harder for a fight like that to happen at that weight level.
So fights like that would be something that would happen in the future, and not now. My weight and strength are fine at 160 pounds. I feel fine at this weight. I actually have no problem making weight at 160. In fact, it is always fairly easy. I'm really a junior middleweight. I'm not a very big guy, really.
I mean, definitely, I think that going to 168 is something that I would consider. But not now. Definitely in the future. But now now. That's way in the future.
BoxingScene.com: Do you see yourself fighting close to or even beyond the age of 40?
Sergio Martinez: I feel great now. I'm in the best moments of my life, and I feel like I'm performing at the best level of my life right now. I don't know, however, if I would like to be fighting in my 40s. I wouldn't want to give my mother that issue to deal with, you know? Me being out there boxing in my 40s.
But I do believe and I do think that if I continue to do things the right way, then, over this next several years, I will continue to enjoy the best years of my life in the sport.
