Sergio Martinez Still Has The Itch To Be The Middleweight King Again
Did you know former unified middleweight, former junior middleweight and top five pound-for-pound champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (56-3-2, 21KO) fought twice in 2022? The 47 year-old continues to pound the pavement of the boxing scene at an advanced age. His latest outing, a return to the United States with a second round knockout over journeyman Noah Kidd on December 11.
The last time Maravilla fought in the States, he was battling knee issues. This ultimately led to losing the WBC middleweight title to Hall of Fame inductee Miguel Cotto in 2014. The sight of him wearing two knee braces as he hit the canvas multiple times in the opening round was a revelation that his career may be done. He announced his retirement shortly after, an event that happened over eight years ago!
Surprisingly after six years of retirement, Martinez returned to the ring in August 2020. Furthermore, he’s been pretty active considering his age. Over the last three years, he fought five times and recorded five victories with three knockouts. While the level of competition has not been high, the activity granted him a #3 ranking with the WBA at middleweight!
RELATED: Gennady Golovkin Could Rekindle Rivalry With Sergio Martinez
Fighters returning to boxing after retirement is nothing new. Many have not officially announced their retirements while undergoing years of inactivity. Then one day, fans may find a post stating the fighter had a return bout. Most of the time this happens, it’s typically due to financial reasons. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Martinez. Given his activity, he genuinely wants to return to the top. He even campaigns in the very division he enjoyed the most success in which will probably grant him a ticket to the Hall of Fame in the future.
Pushing fifty years of age, it is highly-unlikely Martinez becomes the middleweight king again. Conversely, with fighters like Bernard Hopkins and George Foreman accomplishing what was seen as the “impossible”, maybe Maravilla can do the same?!
By: EJ Williams
