Sergio Martinez To End Retirement
After six years of sitting on the sidelines, former world champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) is returning to action. When he does, he will face the challenge of the little known Jose “El Traumatologo” Fandino (15-6, 8 KO’s).
The two will go to war off air in their native Spain on August 21. Fandino has only fought outside of his homeland three times and he lost every one of those outings. Two of those defeats came by way of knockout.
ROUGH LAST NIGHT IN THE OFFICE
Generally speaking, there are only two typical reasons that fighters find their way back into the ring following a lengthy retirement. The first being money issues and the second is a sincere, unshakable love of the game. In his instance, Martinez cannot get over his need to compete in the squared-circle. Even at 45 years of age, Maravilla has to prove to himself one last time what he still has left in the tank.
The last time that he was in the ring, Martinez was defending his WBC world middleweight title against Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KO’s). Going into the bout, the substandard condition of his right knee was well documented. Despite the glaring handicap, the brave Spaniard chose to charge into battle anyway.
During that bout, Martinez looked decent for one minute or so before Cotto started chopping him down with left hooks. During the first round, Maravilla would hit the canvas on three separate occasions. He appeared okay after the first knock down. However, following the second knock down, it was plainly evident that his knee had already retired for the night! From that moment on, it was a one-sided beat down until Martinez was forced to retire on his stool after the ninth round.
WHAT’LL IT BE?
Given the level of opposition that he is coming back against, even with his knee issues, Martinez will go in the heavy favorite. However, aging and serious knee maladies do not typically get better with time. So, it will be very interesting to see how Martinez looks and performs when he slides back into the ring after spending the better part of a decade away from the professional rigors of the sport.
By: Bakari Simpson
