Is Sergio Martinez hall of fame worthy?

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Not an atg, but 20 years from now, his name will be one of the more attractive on the ballot..

[b00g13man]

Not really, but he'll get in.

[Larry the boss]

Absolutely. As it is, he had a very good run, three division champ.

Had he had the opportunity to enter boxing at a younger age, he would have been the one to completely unify 160. I'd pick a prime Martinez to beat GGG; a Martinez that could have been a pro for 5 years at the age of 23 with an extensive amateur career/record. That kind of Martinez I think would be one of the greatest boxers most would have ever seen live.

?????????? 3 division?

[jcj0427]

I think he was a hall of fame talent who perservered through all the bad in boxing (decisions, politics, etc). In a sense, he had an extremely satisfying career to follow as a fan because he earned it the hard way. He fought in a division (not his own) where he was outsized every fight due to fighting in this age where the best don't necessarily want to fight the best. He was a top 5 p4p fighter who had to constantly prove himself to everyone and was disrespected as a fighter and champion. His "reign" was short and under normal circumstances I'd maybe lean towards his career not being long enough at the top level but as we're coming into this age of GGG and/or Canelo you can start to see his quality. He's the best middleweight champ we've seen in a long time if you really think about it. It's been YEARS already and as we reflect back, there are a lot of undeserving men who've held the titles but we can all be in agreement he was not one of them. He was without a shadow of a doubt the one who held the torch and he did it with heart, class and avoided no one. Short as it may have been, I think that speaks volumes of a fighter in this age, in one of the most storied divisions ever. If Gatti can get in then why shouldn't one of the guys who if you made a timeline of 160, he'd take up a small chunk of it as being the undisputed king of it? Guys like Quillin, Lee, BJS, Lemiux, etc are what the average belt holder looks like. Let that sink in. If they're champions, guys like Martinez could only be called "super" champions if we judge by quality.

There wasn't a single soul brave enough to come up to 154 while he was lurking...as soon as he left, even Pacquiao manned up. None of the 154 guys dared challenge him at 160 either. I remember watching Roach as he helplessly told the cameras mid fight that Sergio was just too damn fast, he could do nothing but watch his gigantic JCC Jr fight a real talent.

Like someone said, the way the HOF is he deserves it with flying colors. The way it should be? I'm not so sure. Unlike Gatti (no disrespect to Gatti, I was a huge fan) he didn't leave his mark in boxing for being just an exciting fighter but for his actual quality.

Very very true. Maravilla was a legitimate champion unlike all those guys, and there are many "beltholders" in boxing today. Martinez is a HOF'er.

[HeroBando]

I have to echo what has already been said. He falls a little short normally, but the way the HOF is, if you're basing it on Gattie ect, then..yes.

I loved watching Martinez fight. Really liked his style.
His performances/fights against Williams, Pavlik and Chavez were really enjoyable IMO.

Gatti scored big on "fame", Sergio not so much. Like 4 Fotys for Gatti.

[HeroBando]

I think he was a two division champ, matter.?

Right, and that first one was paper: won interim belt vs Bunema, defended via "draw" vs Cintron, got promoted to full champ, moved up before defending once

[jcj0427]

Absolutely. As it is, he had a very good run, three division champ.

Had he had the opportunity to enter boxing at a younger age, he would have been the one to completely unify 160. I'd pick a prime Martinez to beat GGG; a Martinez that could have been a pro for 5 years at the age of 23 with an extensive amateur career/record. That kind of Martinez I think would be one of the greatest boxers most would have ever seen live.

Couldnt agree more. People forget how talented this guy was. If he was brought on and taken more seriously at a younger age he woulda been more relevant and not had such a late run. That Margarito loss set him back for life it seemed. A prime Maravilla vs GGG today is a fight for the ages.

[LouIE G]

Right, and that first one was paper: won interim belt vs Bunema, defended via "draw" vs Cintron, got promoted to full champ, moved up before defending once

Yup...

[NearHypnos]

Right, and that first one was paper: won interim belt vs Bunema, defended via "draw" vs Cintron, got promoted to full champ, moved up before defending once

Not his fault Vernon died!? Lol. Jesus

They were supposed to fight.


Nobody wanted to fight Sergio at 154 anyhow. Name a good 154 pounder who was willing to fight P Will, Pavlik (on short notice) , and Jcc Jr. P Will and Sergio were the only ones with the balls to face one another. Pavlik and JCC Jr are nightmare scenarios for anyone (especially the thought of going up as an average sized 154 lber) they were so massive at 160 it was honestly ridiculous. We couldnt even get Cotto to fight past 158 and Canelo aint leaving 155 despite looking like a tank. GGG wouldn't dare move up to 168 for Ward (not that I agree he should have) but that's exactly what Sergio did. Pavlik was legitimately a very good fighter and Jcc Jr was hilariously oversized at 160 that no one outside of Sergio (maybe Pirog and GGG?) were going to beat him at 160. And even then without movement any 160 pounder was going to have a nightmare matchup with dinero de vaca. Dude was like 185+ pounds on fight night.


Man...I just took a step back to laugh at that. 185+ pounds... :/... Damn. Last size discrepency I saw that was hilarious was probably Gamboa vs Crawford. And maybe a bunch of those Broner fights too.

[-PBP-]

Already been said. By the current HOF standard, he is a shoo-in. As far as an ATG standard, he falls just short.