Sergio Martinez talks Julio Cesar Chavez Jr rematch!
Former two-division world champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (51-3-2, 28KOs) is on the comeback trail after nearly six years out of the squared circle. His last fight against Miguel Cotto saw him stopped in a major upset to relinquish is middleweight titles. Now 45 years of age, the former champion is seeking out a familiar foe in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr once he’s back into the groove of fighting again.
He spoke with YouTube personality and 3Kings Boxing affiliate Curran Bhatia of Ask The Experts about his return to the ring and how he’s dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martinez on how he’s dealing with the Coronavirus:
“First of all, I’m in Madrid, my home. I’ve lived in Madrid for about 18 years now. In this home specifically, I’ve lived in since 2012. I’m very well in Madrid, I’m very comfortable. Truthfully my situation doesn’t change much for me because when I was boxing I would have my training camps and I would be isolated from everyone.
“It’s the same situation here, I don’t go out. I basically go out every ten days to go shopping for the essentials and that’s basically it. That’s the only thing I go out for.”
On his reason to return to boxing:
“Well my return, I’ve been planning for about two years. I was 43 when I started planning about this return. You know, obviously when you’re 43, 45 age matters, but the idea initially was to come back and do a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr because I felt there were great ties between us.
“Basically, we had a great fight. Also, because of that, something is important to me apart from that great fight.
“He was taken hold of by depression, alcohol and drugs, and his life kind of collapsed, per se. So my idea was what about if Jr and I, as colleagues, help each other out per se. Doesn’t mean that we’re friends, we don’t need to be friends.
“But as colleagues, we each have needs. So let’s have a fight, let’s say anywhere from 6 to 8 months, in this timeline. But obviously with this timeline, 6-8 months, Jr has to do things correctly. Leave drugs, leave alcohol behind, leave that bad lifestyle behind, and maybe that is something he’s able to fix for the rest of his life and something that really changes his habits.
“So that’s one thing and that can be a decisive moment for Jr, but also it could be something very decisive moment for me and a turning point for me. Because no matter what happens in the fight […] his life can change. So for me, that can be something fantastic because I want to be apart of an extraordinary adventure.”
Obviously, these two guys share memorable history together. Back in September of 2012, their fight would be remembered for not how competitive it was, but for how Chavez Jr almost grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat as he put a beating on the then-middleweight champion Martinez, dropping him in that classic twelfth round.
With both men no longer at their peak best, this fight would be a true 50/50 fight. Would fight fans be interested in seeing a rematch? That’s up in the air. One thing is for certain, even at 45 years of age, Martinez’s name and championship pedigree would make him a decent commodity.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
