By Jake Donovan
Every time he sees or hears Nonito Donaire’s name, Raul Martinez can’t help but reflect back on what has served as the worst night of his professional career to date.
Donaire – regarded by many as high among the best little big men in the sport today – is responsible for the lone loss on Martinez’ record. The win was probably Donaire’s most impressive performance since beating Vic Darchinyan more than three years ago, as he stopped Martinez in four rounds early in 2009.
That he rates so highly on the resume of a pound-for-pound entrant is perhaps the only moral victory that Martinez can take from that event.
But that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of moving on.
Martinez will most likely tune in as an interested observer for Donaire’s next fight, as he headlines tonight’s Top Rank pay-per-view telecast against Wladimir Sidirenko.
A win in that fight will put Donaire in position to face Fernando Montiel in a bantamweight superfight next February, where he will be in line to win a major title in a third weight class.
Meanwhile, Martinez is anxious over the opportunity to receive a second crack at becoming a world champion for the first time, though using the loss to Donaire as a learning experience, as well as a constant reminder of how far he still has to go in his career to realize his dreams.
“The fight with Donaire – I look in the rearview mirror and it’s always there,” says Martinez (28-1, 16KO) of his failed title bid. “Every interview I’ve done since then, I’m asked about that fight. I can’t forget that.
“All I can do is keep working hard and getting to my dream of becoming a world champion.”
Martinez is one step closer towards turning that dream into a reality, though hardly received a free pass on his way there. The San Antonio native survived a tougher than expected scrap last month with Rodrigo Guerrero to secure a mandatory shot at the winner of the December 11 title fight between Juan Alberto Rosas and Cristian Mijares.
It was a rough night for the former amateur standout, who was bloodied early and battered often, but enjoyed a strong second half surge to distance himself on two of the three scorecards to take a well-deserved – if strangely scored – split decision win.
However rough was his night and the aftermath, it was well worth all of the bumps and bruises endured considering what lies ahead.
“I’m starting to feel better daily,” comments Martinez as he reminds the public of just how much a fighter goes through, before, during and especially after a fight. “It’s exciting that I got the victory and one step closer towards a world title.”
There were moments of tension when one ringside official not only had Guerrero winning the fight, but somehow found nine rounds to score against Martinez.
Considering the rough night he endured from bell to bell, it’s quite a statement that Martinez was less concerned during the fight than he was once the first scorecard was announced.
“The scoring made me think, ‘Man they’re gonna rob me!’ It was a tough fight, but I was in control with my combinations and the jab. He was throwing like 15 punches at a time but not landing. I was throwing in combination and landing a lot more. I knew I was going to get it.”
His hand being raised in victory by night’s end helped justify all of the sacrifices put into the fight. A good portion of his training camp included sleeping on the floor of a friend’s house, so that he can afford to pay for his house to provide for his family, not to mention the fact that he was away from his family for six weeks.
As hard as it was for him to be separated from his loved ones for that length of time, he realizes that even greater sacrifice will be required once he’s training for a world title shot.
“I know my next camp will probably have to be two months when training for that world title fight. I need a long, intense training camp to compete with the best guy in my division. I’m willing to do it because I know I’m capable of beating anyone.”
There’s no preference as to whom he fights, other than the generalization that Guerrero is in the same mold as Rosas, a straight-forward fighter whose idea of defense is more offense.
Mijares is perhaps the most technically proficient fighter in the division, but is also just past his absolute best, or at least not the standout talent that was believed to be the case during his title reign that lasted more than 18 months.
No matter whom he faces, Martinez fully expects to come out as the winner and new champion. Anything less, and he cannot be fully satisfied with how his career has turned out to date.
“I was a very successful amateur. I won national championships as an amateur and minor titles as a pro. If I retire and wasn’t a world champion, I will feel like my career was a failure. I have to be a world champion before I retire.”
That said, he firmly believes that the upcoming new year will be the one in which the term ‘failure’ is permanently removed from his vocabulary.
“2011 is the plan to become a world champion. If that fight can’t happen, I want to stay busy. I don’t want to be put on the shelf. There are times where I haven’t fought for 4-5 months and don’t want that to continue.”
In due time, he would love nothing more than to avenge his lone pro loss. However, those plans won’t come to fruition anytime soon. Donaire makes his bantamweight debut tonight and has aspirations of going all the way up to featherweight.
Martinez was initially a bantamweight when he turned pro in 2004, but has since found comfort at super flyweight. The division remains loaded with talent despite fighters such as Donaire and Darchinyan defecting three pounds north.
There are no such desires for Martinez to move back up. Even when fighting at that weight, there always existed the belief that the right training camps could help him be more effective a division or two lower.
Such is where his career now stands, as he is now in a prime position to prove that there is success to be found the second time around.
“I feel really comfortable at 115 right now. I make the weight comfortably and trying to campaign at 115 to be the next champion. It didn’t happen in my first try, but I’m ready for whoever wins (next Saturday) and anyone else who stands in my way.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
