by Chris Robinson
Lineal middleweight champion Sergio Martinez sat ringside in Houston, Texas for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s 5th round stoppage over game but outmatched Peter Manfredo and was kind enough to share his thoughts on the fight.
Chavez holds the WBC belt that was inexplicably stripped from Martinez earlier this year and the Argentinean lefty has been dying for a crack at Junior for over a year now. Speaking over the phone through his advisor Sampson Lewkowicz, Martinez admitted he was impressed by Chavez’s performance but feels it had a lot do with his opponent standing across from him.
“It was a very good fight. He fought a very good fight but it was his opposition,” Martinez stated.
While a fight with Martinez would likely give us all the definitive answers we are looking for in young Chavez, his co-promoter Bob Arum with Top Rank has never seemed too keen on such a fight and has instead showed interest towards a clash with fellow Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
It’s very likely that Martinez could be angled out of the fight and such a scenario honestly wouldn’t catch him off guard.
“That is not a surprise,” said Martinez. “And if Chavez doesn’t want to fight me, it won’t surprise me either.”
Chavez’s trainer Freddie Roach has been extremely dismissive towards Martinez in recent months, claiming that he has several weaknesses as a fighter and even going as far as to call him a bum earlier this month. The esteemed trainer is very outspoken despite his low-key demeanor and Martinez feels he is a bit off of his rocker
“I’m afraid that every day he seems to know less about boxing than he thinks he really knows,” added Martinez. “That’s just the way he expresses himself. He doesn’t have any problem whether or not he feels what he says is ignorant or not.”
Roach also trains WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, one of the top two fighters in the world and a man who has also been linked to Martinez as a potential opponent despite them fighting in separate weight classes. Pacquiao is coming off of a narrow majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in their trilogy bout last weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a fight that many felt should have went the other way.
Martinez took in the action and after Pacquiao’s less-than-stirring performance, he admits he wouldn’t be surprised to see Arum push for a fourth bout with Marquez instead of chasing a super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Yeah I saw it. I thought the same way that everyone worldwide thinks, that Marquez won the fight. Bob Arum will try to save by cashing in more on Pacquiao and it’s shameful.”
