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All great fighters suffer in the end, just ask Ali, Tyson, De La Hoya and the on going saga of Roy Jones Jr. Sergio Martinez, or "Maravilla" as he was known, may not have reached those lofty heights but he was the greatest middleweight of his generation and his fall was just as painful to watch.
Take nothing away from the four division world champion, Miguel Cotto, he fought to a terrifically defined Freddie Roach game plan and the way he cut the ring was text book but he was feasting on a corpse, just like Holmes and Lewis before him. The speed and scintillating reflexes were dulled if not absent, the legs were weak and weary, were his knees damaged? Or did that first left hook leave an imprint which lasted the entire fight? Maybe we'll never know (opinions differ, fan to fan, tellingly Sermiento believes the knees gave way some four rounds earlier) but what is for sure is that Martinez's body gave up long before his heart and mind.
The image of Maravilla's grief stricken face and Pablo Sermiento, long time friend and trainer, stopping the fight will live on for years to come, much like De La Hoya sitting dejectedly on his stool or Ray Leonard looking bewildered and beaten up. In fact, that image of Sugar Ray, falling to a smaller man is probably most adequate, he too had an injured leg coming into the fight and stumbled from shots which he, in his prime, would have taken.
Let's for now, in this briefest of moments, forget Martinez's last fight and look back at what he did do, how he moved up to middleweight because he couldn't entertain big fights at the lower limit, how he dethroned the reigning, lineal champion of the world, how he silenced his greatest rival, how he dominated the division and beat four legitimate challengers. In many of his victories, Martinez looked very much the p4p fighter he was written as. Fast and powerful, he was a dream for his fans and a nightmare for his opponents.
Let's remember "The Marvel" as he once was, not what he became. A great champion and an honourable man.
Take nothing away from the four division world champion, Miguel Cotto, he fought to a terrifically defined Freddie Roach game plan and the way he cut the ring was text book but he was feasting on a corpse, just like Holmes and Lewis before him. The speed and scintillating reflexes were dulled if not absent, the legs were weak and weary, were his knees damaged? Or did that first left hook leave an imprint which lasted the entire fight? Maybe we'll never know (opinions differ, fan to fan, tellingly Sermiento believes the knees gave way some four rounds earlier) but what is for sure is that Martinez's body gave up long before his heart and mind.
The image of Maravilla's grief stricken face and Pablo Sermiento, long time friend and trainer, stopping the fight will live on for years to come, much like De La Hoya sitting dejectedly on his stool or Ray Leonard looking bewildered and beaten up. In fact, that image of Sugar Ray, falling to a smaller man is probably most adequate, he too had an injured leg coming into the fight and stumbled from shots which he, in his prime, would have taken.
Let's for now, in this briefest of moments, forget Martinez's last fight and look back at what he did do, how he moved up to middleweight because he couldn't entertain big fights at the lower limit, how he dethroned the reigning, lineal champion of the world, how he silenced his greatest rival, how he dominated the division and beat four legitimate challengers. In many of his victories, Martinez looked very much the p4p fighter he was written as. Fast and powerful, he was a dream for his fans and a nightmare for his opponents.
Let's remember "The Marvel" as he once was, not what he became. A great champion and an honourable man.
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