By Rick Reeno
Sampson Lewkowicz, the adviser to WBC Emeritus champion Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez (47-2, 26KOs), wants WBO champ Dmitry Pirog (18-0, 14KOs) to prove himself before going around and calling out his fighter. On Saturday night in Ekaterinburg, Russia - Pirog had a much tougher than expected time in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over optional challenger Javier Francisco Maciel (18-2, 12KOs). The scores were 115-112, 117-110 and 115-111.
Lewkowicz watched Pirog's fight. He believes the Russian boxer's performance has further pushed back a possible meeting between the two champions.
"I wanted to tell Dmitry Pirog, please don't mention Sergio Martinez after this kind of performance. Don't embarrass yourself by mentioning Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez. He needs to do a lot more to qualify himself to fight Martinez, who is the established champion of the people, and the WBC. He needs to do a lot more to be qualified to fight Martinez in the eyes of HBO," Lewkowicz told BoxingScene.com.
