SERGIO MARTINEZ: "HIS MOUTH IS SO BIG...BIGGER THAN HIS OWN BRAIN AND HE'S TALKING TOO MUCH"
By Press Release | September 06, 2012
"Regardless of the preparation of his entire career, it would not make a difference; I will knock him out anyway. I believe that I am No. 2 in this sport, so that is good enough to know that I will beat him. He cannot beat me...I cannot accept the fact he is world champion. The only reason he is world champion is because he is Julio César Chávez Jr., the son of the legend and his mouth is so big – even bigger than his own brain and he's talking too much," stated middleweight king Sergio Martinez, who held a conference call to discuss his highly-anticipated showdown with WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Check out what else he had to say!
LOU DiBELLA: Thanks for joining us and it's wonderful to work on this great event with Top Rank. The ticket sales and Thomas & Mack have been incredible and it's going to be a clean sellout. I would urge everyone to get their tickets now. There are tickets left, particularly the least expensive [$75 and $50]. I do not expect there to be any tickets left on fight week so I urge people to get out and get their tickets now. I want to thank our sponsors for this event – Tecate, AT & T and Wynn Las Vegas. They have been wonderful. When you have a product to sell, it sells. We have the two best middleweights in the world getting it on -- Martínez, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and Julio César Chávez Jr., the son of the legend. It's easy to sell this fight because it's a great betting fight. The odds right now are slightly in Sergio's favor but they could sway by the first bell when all the Méxican-American fans have made their way to the Vegas sports books.
PABLO SARMIENTO: This fight will be a very tough fight. We are fooling each other if we don't think that will be. We have worked very hard for the past two months. We need to be intelligent in the ring and we will come out victorious.
SAMSON LEWKOWICZ: As the advisor, I need to congratulate Lou DiBella. Many people say that it is hard to deal with Bob Arum and I would like to say everybody is wrong. It is an honor for me to work with him for the first time and this is actually the first big event of my life. I am looking forward to this because if you ask Martínez, you know it wasn't about the money. He wanted the fight and he wanted it very badly. He took it very personally. He didn't ask me "how much," he said "when." And "when" is September 15th, so I am very happy. I am looking forward to seeing what will be the best fight of the year.
LOU DiBELLA: And now I would like to introduce who I think is the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, some have him No. 3 but I believe he is No. 2 – the true middleweight world champion fighting a younger, bigger, stronger man and the son of a legend, Sergio Martínez is very confident and prepared and one of the best people in boxing, Sergio "Maravila" Martínez.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: My trainer and I have worked very hard for the past two months. People will see who the REAL middleweight champion is because they know who the best is right now and that is Sergio "Maravila" Martínez. We all know that Chávez has the title, but on September 15th, the belt will go to the rightful owner and that is Sergio.
How personally is Sergio taking this fight?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: It is personal. Not only do I want the title, but I have wanted to fight Chávez for a long time.
What areas would you say you have a great advantage over Chávez?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: Julio César Chávez is fighting Sergio Martínez. Regardless of the preparation of his entire career, it would not make a difference; I will knock him out anyway. I believe that I am No. 2 in this sport, so that is good enough to know that I will beat him. He cannot beat me. He cannot. I don't really know if there is an easy aspect of him in his fighting, but I now that I am better than him.
What is the reason for this animosity?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: It is very simple. I cannot accept the fact he is world champion. The only reason he is world champion is because he is Julio César Chávez Jr., the son of the legend and his mouth is so big – even bigger than his own brain and he's talking too much.
SAMSON LEWKOWICZ: I have known Sergio Martínez for the past five years and I have never seen him so motivated. He never disliked any of his opponents and always had respect for them. But Chávez took something away from him and he believes he was wronged. And he believes that he had to wait too long to get it back. This all has given him more motivation from the people is Spain and he is an idol in Argentina. Chávez Jr. has a big mouth and he is very insulting and he will pay the price on September 15. I never go to camp, because everyone has their own job. Pablo does his own. Sergio does his own. I do my own. And Lou does his own. But I went twice, three times and I never saw him so motivated, so hungry – looking toward the date.
LOU DiBELLA: There is a contrast on how these guys were raised and who they are. Chávez Jr. was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. He's been in the ring on someone's shoulders since he was a baby. He was handled with kid gloves as a fighter on the rise. He was basically handed the opportunity to win the belt maybe a little bit before he was the fighter he is now. Sergio Martínez was raised in a slum, the worst ghetto in Argentina, with no shoes. He had to fight his way thru bullies just to get to school. He had to go to Europe to fight for peanuts. He got $900 to fight Antonio Margarito. It took him until his early 30's to become a name or an attraction in boxing. Contrast the superstar kid, son of the legend whose had everything on a silver platter and the other had to work his ass off to get it.
Has Sergio seen improvements in Chávez Jr.?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: I believe that he has learned a lot from Freddie Roach. Secondly, regardless of the good man, he is not one of the great fighters. He is a good one, but not one of the best.
What kind of plan will you have for Chávez and are you worried about a decision?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: The speed and the power that I will deliver to Chávez on Septmbr 15th will be enough to knock him out. I will not wait for the judges.
What do you think needs to be done to get more of the best fighting the best?
LOU DiBELLA: I have always been able to do business with Bob Arum and he's always been able to do business with me. Apparently Dan Goossen and Gary Shaw can do business together and that's why these fights are happening. Here are two fights, one of which we think is not happening, and in the absence of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, this captures the attention of the casual boxing fan. Chávez Jr. and Martínez is a fight that is high on that list and the other fight, which is about as good a fight as you will get on premium TV. As long as there is an uneven playing field and as long as some people don't do business with others and as long as some personalities get in the way of others, you will not see the best fighting the best. At the moment, just celebrate the fact you have these really good fights in the next couple of weeks. What has to be done? It's very easy to make a deal – it's not rocket science – it's not that hard to figure out how to make a boxing deal. If it's a premium cable deal – you know what money is in the pot and you know what's available from sponsorship and gate. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to do it. If it's a Pay-Per-View fight, you work out a percentage to get the deal done. That's what was done here and the winner is the fan.
LOU DiBELLA: The only roadblock to getting this fight done was they didn't think Chávez Jr. was ready – and that was good promotion and management. Chavez Jr. is now bigger. He looks like a different guy now – he's grown up. He has a he size advantage over Sergio which is why this fight is so appealing. The fight is now universally thought of as a very dangerous fight.
Do you believe your style will leave you open?
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ: I fought all 53 of my fights with my hands down. I did it with Paul Williams. I did it with Kelly Pavlik. Why not with Chávez? What will be the difference? I will do it again with my hands down.
SAMSON LEWKOWICZ: In the 53 fights, he only lost one – against Margarito. That was the only one and he was not ready for the fight. The other was a draw and that was robbery – against Paul Williams. His style has been very successful and now fighters are trying to imitate him. Right now I am in Russia and people have been coming up to me wishing Sergio good luck which says to me everyone knows Sergio's style, worldwide.
LOU DiBELLA: Even after 53 fights it still makes me nervous (LOL).
