By Cliff Rold

A great weight class is enhanced by exceptional talent but talent alone doesn’t bring greatness to a head.  The fights are the thing.

At Middleweight, the talent is there.  The division is headed by an elite level performer in lineal champion Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO).  Beneath him is as good a crop of young contenders and titlists as can be found anywhere on the scale…on paper. 

Middleweight has the ingredients to be one of the game’s genuine minefields.  The fights just aren’t happening the way they should be.  At least not yet.  

This Saturday, one of four regular or interim undefeated Middleweight beltholders with the potential to nip at Martinez’s heels is in action.  It won’t be with Martinez.  Beltholders Felix Sturm (36-2-2, 15 KO) and Daniel Geale (26-1, 15 KO) are low on blemishes as well, neither any close to challenging the king. 

This weekend is the immediate focus.  Make no mistake.  WBC beltholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KO) is a paper titlist.  One day, he may be more than that.  The day hasn’t arrived yet.

There are those who think this weekend will be a Waterloo moment for him.  Matched with tough veteran Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KO), there is a chance of a setback.  Chavez may never get there.  Rubio, who has been stopped three times in his career, is a long bet.

Martinez has made clear he’d like to see Chavez across the ring.  Why not?  Perceived as vulnerable and inexperienced, Team Martinez made lots of noise about enforcing a mandatory shot at Chavez’s belt.  Junior is probably the biggest payday with the least risk.

Chavez promoter Bob Arum has hinted he wants that check to go to Antonio Margarito if Chavez gets by Rubio.  Martinez can happen after that.  Good thing fans can trust Arum when he says the big fight can happen after a few in-house clashes, right?  

What of smaller checks that equal more risk for Martinez?  WBO titlist Dmitry Pirog (19-0, 15 KO) has made clear he wants a crack at Martinez.  Pirog, who emerged from the pack with a dazzling knockout of undefeated Daniel Jacobs in July 2010, has worked hard to build a mandate for a shot by fighting a whopping two times since against fighters who hardly register in the division’s top thirty.         

A unification clash with IBF titlist Daniel Geale was briefly discussed in 2010.  It didn’t come together.  Another potential unification clash with ‘regular’ WBA titlist Gennady Golovkin (22-0, 19 KO) was mired in promoter back and forth about who isn’t negotiating with who among other verbal volleys in December.  It’s a potential war between the strands reduced to a war of words. 

Golovkin instead focused on a clash with ‘interim’ WBA titlist Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (26-0, 19 KO).  Team Golovkin has claimed a lack of interest from the other side, apparently born out when a purse bid scheduled for February 2nd died.  Golovkin’s side claims N’Jikam has given up his interim tag though no official announcement from the WBA verifies the claim as the time of this authoring.

Golovkin has also made clear he’d like to enforce his mandatory with WBA “Super” titlist Sturm.  Sturm, after getting a fortunate decision against Matthew Macklin (28-3, 19 KO) and an equally fortunate decision against Martin Murray (23-0-1, 10 KO) in 2010 was briefly rumored to be considering Pirog or Geale.  He settled on the much less threatening Zbik.

Cuban Jr. Middleweight Erislandy Lara (15-1-1, 10 KO), hot off kicking the crap out of Paul Williams en route to one of the worst decisions of 2011, called for Pirog.  Pirog’s side talked about the monetary requirements in balking. 

To Pirog’s credit, he appears to be trying to fight everybody else.  To Martinez’s credit, his next defense in March will come against a Macklin who, after the Sturm fight, can feel like the uncrowned WBA titlist.

Martinez-Macklin is the best the division is doing right now.  It’s far from the best it can do.  Based on styles and strengths, it looks like a pretty clear win for Martinez.  A situation has developed where, in rough algebraic terms, A wants B…and doesn’t seem to want to see much else. 

That leaves a division full of potential A talent and matches with an F to show for itself. 

In a division where Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler, and Bernard Hopkins made their bones, where is the man who is willing to say “I’ll kick everyone’s ass,” and then go do it? 

Part of the problem is, of course, economics.  Chavez and Sturm can draw but are vulnerable. Martinez, even as the true king of class, is high risk without highest reward for both.  Team Martinez has to find high risk and low reward in much of what’s left while praying for a Pacquiao or Mayweather to come up the scale before Martinez qualifies for AARP.  

Another part of the problem is belts.  With Super champs and interim titlists, there are six men running around with belts.  That’s absurd.  Martinez may be the champion, but the trophies aren’t his, affecting his ability to draw opponents to him.  Belts mean money and everyone can keep punching the clock for value without risking the big “L.”  In a better world, beating Martinez would be the most important thing to everyone at Middleweight.

We live in this world instead, a world where being called ‘champ’ too often trumps actually being one.

Networks in multiple nations also have to step up, as the talent is separated by disparate markets in Russia, Germany, and the U.S.  Geale-Pirog wasn’t ultimately attractive enough to U.S. TV.  Few who regularly watch Martinez in the U.S. could probably pick anyone but Sturm or Chavez out of a line-up, and Sturm-Oscar De La Hoya was so long ago as to make that even a hard bet.

Look at all of boxing’s most exciting weight classes right now and they all have incredible clash.  Cruiserweight and Jr. Middleweight might not have the talent of Middleweight but enough of the fights are happening to overcome the objection.  Jr. Welterweight and Bantamweight have talent and the right matches. 

Middleweight, early in 2012, is a failure to launch.  The dam will break eventually.  Someone somewhere will get the ball rolling towards fulfilling the potential present at 160 lbs. 

For now, we have Chavez-Rubio and Martinez-Macklin.           

The Weekly Ledger

But wait, there’s more…

Provodnikov, Kim Entertain: https://www.boxingscene.com/ruslan-provodnikov-keeps-hits-coming-washington--49005
The Forgotten Lightweight: https://www.boxingscene.com/-forgotten-lightweight-review-ratings-update--49132
Updated Division Ratings: https://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=boxing-ratings
Picks of the Week: https://www.boxingscene.com/boxingscenecoms-television-picks-week--49097

Cliff’s Notes…Rest in peace to the great Angelo Dundee…So, THE fight?  Not happening.  No shock.  What we get instead, Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto at 154 and (probably) Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley, is the best of all realistic alternatives.  The two best Welterweights will split duty against the consensus best at 154 and 140 respectively.  That’s just about bitching proof.  The glass is half full.  Let’s drink it up and enjoy two matches easy to anticipate outside the shadow of what isn’t to be right now, if ever…Cory Spinks is still alive at Jr. Middleweight.  Is a rematch with Cornelius Bundrage the only path either can really walk right now?...Ortiz-Berto II dying stinks.  The glass is half empty there.  The thinking here was that another great fight was unlikely, but it would have been great to find out…Mikkel Kessler and his team can say what they want.  Does anyone think he really wants a rematch with Andre Ward?  Crickets…While the rooting interest will be for Brady to beat Eli on Peyton’s turf, the Giants have better players overall when healthy right now.  Let’s hope for a great Super Bowl no matter the winner.     

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com