Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Chavez Jr to fight Ronald Hearns on September 17th

By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (43-0-1, 30 KO’s) has decided to slip in a fairly safe money fight against bottom 15 World Boxing Council ranked fringe contender Ronald Hearns (26-2, 20 KO’s) on September 17th at the Palengue, in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Although Chavez’s promoter and trainers both have advised him not to take this fight and wait instead until his scheduled November 19th fight against Peter Manfredo Jr, Chavez has opted to take the fight with the 32-year-old Hearns anyway. Chavez Jr likely wants to get in another quick payday before taking on Manfredo, which should be another fairly safe fight.

It’s getting two for the price of one. The good thing about a Hearns fight is that Chavez Jr doesn’t have much to worry about. Hearns is slender, not particularly rugged and will likely fold early on if Chavez comes at him hard with power early on in the fight. If Chavez Jr lets Hearns hang around past the 6th, Chavez Jr will absorb some punishment because Hearns has a decent right hand that will likely find Chavez’s exposed head repeatedly.

Chavez Jr has shown in his last two fights that his defensive skills are lacking to the extreme. He may be trained by a good trainer in Freddie Roach, but he doesn’t seem to be getting any better on the defensive side of his game. The only thing that looks to have improved under Roach is Chavez’s conditioning, and even that is still very limited. He looked exhausted in his last two fights, struggling to beat the WBC paper champion Sebastian Zbik last June, and having a hard time beating a small junior middleweight fringe contender Billy Lyell in January. Chavez Jr is considered the new WBC paper champion by many boxing fans, meaning he’s not considered to be a very good champion.

Roach didn’t want Chavez to take a fight in September because he wouldn’t be able to work with him very much because of his commitment to training Manny Pacquiao, who is fighting in November. Roach had hoped that Chavez Jr would listen to him and not take the fight. However, Chavez Jr may feel that it’s a fight that he can win even without Roach’s training and he’s probably right on that front. If Chavez Jr can’t beat a fighter like Hearns, he has no business taking on better guys.

Provided that Chavez gets by Hearns, he’ll face Manfredo in November. That’s another what you would call safe fight for Chavez. Manfredo is someone that hasn’t really beaten anyone to deserve the No.5 ranking by the WBC, and was beaten by guys like Jeff Lacy, Joe Calzaghe and destroyed by Sakio Bika. Manfredo does a great job against B and C level opposition, but struggles when put in with A class fighters. Chavez Jr obviously isn’t an A class fighter, but if he comes into the fight weighing over 180 pounds like he did in his last fight, he’ll beat Manfredo.

Chavez Jr may have to fight former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez next year in early 2012. The WBC wants Chavez Jr. to fight Martinez, who is the Emeritus champion. However, it’s rather doubtful that Chavez’s promoter Bob Arum will allow that to happen. He wants to put Chavez Jr in big paying bouts against Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Martinez would ruin those grand plans by knocking Chavez Jr out without any problems, which would take those fights off the table. To be sure, Arum could still end up matching Chavez up against one of those fighters but the interest will be much less after Chavez suffers his first knockout loss

 

[heyzel]

Erik Morales: I’m going to beat Matthysse

By Dan Ambrose: 34-year-old Erik Morales (51-7, 35 KO’s) is fighting for the vacant WBC light welterweight title on September 17th against the number #7 ranked WBC contender Lucas Matthysse (28-2, 26 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. In looking at how mediocre Morales has looked since staging his comeback in in 2010, it’s incredible how Morales was given the chance to fight for the vacant World Boxing Council title.

However, this seems to be one of those cases where an old fighter with a name is given a golden opportunity to fight for a title. We’ve seen this happen over and over again in boxing. Now it’s Morales’ turn. Morales lost his last fight against Marcos Maidana last April in a 12 round decision loss for the interim WBC light welterweight belt, but is now being given another chance to win a title.

Morales said this about the Matthysse fight: “I am crazy about what I do…I am going to do whatever I have to do to win…I’ll fight for the Mexican people and be champion again.”

The chances aren’t good that Morales will win this fight, because he’s taking on a young fighter with excellent power and good skills. Morales looked to be only capable of fighting in short bursts in his loss to Maidana, and that was against a slow opponent with limited stamina. Matthysse is a better conditioned fighter with a faster hands and with a better workrate.

This is going to be a very difficult fight for Morales to win unless he’s able to fight on a higher level than what he’s been showing as of late. Morales has the boxing knowledge to win this fight but not the size or the youth to accomplish it. Matthysse will have to be really off for Morales to win this fight unless we’re dealing with Matthysse getting beat by another controversial decision.

 

[Timm]

jus chillin

 

[heyzel]

Tua vs. Barrett II on Saturday

By Eric Thomas: 40-year-old heavyweight contender David Tua (52-3-2, 43 KO’s) faces 40-year-old Monte Barrett (34-9-2, 20 KO’s) on Saturday at the Telestra Clear Events Centre in Manukau City, New Zealand. For Tua, who is ranked #3 by the World Boxing Organization, this will be his second chance to try and beat the 2nd tier Barrett.

Tua took on Barrett a year ago in July 2010 in what was supposed to have been an easy fight to keep the highly ranked Tua in line for an eventual title shot against WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. However, Barrett spoiled Tua’s plans by knocking him down in the 12th round and earning a 12 round majority draw. That loss messed things up for Tua, and he followed that fight with a 10 round decision win over Demtrice King (15-20, 13 KO’s) in another uneven performance from Tua. Both guys were fighters that Tua should have easily beaten and looked good against if he were really a deserving #3 contender, but he struggled.

Tua says he’s not going to go looking for a knockout on Saturday against Barrett, and instead will focus on just trying to win a decision on points. Tua doesn’t want to blow it again while trying to take Barrett out. Tua really needs to be careful because Barrett showed that he has enough power in his left hook and right hand to hurt Tua. The last thing that Tua needs is to get knocked out while he’s trying to get a title shot.

“If I’m to go out there and look for the knockout, I overlook other things,” Tua said to the nzherald.co.nz. “It’s important for me to pile the points up, then at least you know you’ve got points to fall back on if it comes to that towards the end of the fight.”

Tua needs to punch with speed and combinations. He can’t just load up like he’s been doing and throw one punch at a time. During his best years 10+ years ago, Tua was dangerous when he was putting his punches together. However, after he started putting on a lot of weight and coming into his fights in less than the best condition, Tua stopped throwing combinations and became a one punch at a time fighter. He still was lethal because of his huge punching power but not nearly as good as he was before.

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather hints that Khan isn’t a big enough draw to fight

By William Mackay: While all WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan can talk about is a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr for 2012, Mayweather has different ideas and is now questioning whether Khan is a big enough draw for him to waste time fighting. This comes after Khan’s somewhat disappointing attendance numbers against the aging Zab Judah.

Khan won the fight by a 5th round TKO against a fighter that showed all the hallmarks of being over the hill with Judah’s inability to let his hands go.

In interview at fighthype.com, Mayweather indicated that he’d like to see Khan face one of his fighters Jessie Vargas (16-0, 9 KO’s) instead of fighting him. Mayweather said “He [Khan] don’t really want that; not selling 2500 tickets and having a bunch of giveaways.”

I agree with Mayweather. It’s too early for a Khan-Mayweather fight because Khan isn’t a star in the U.S among casual boxing fans and still has yet to convince hardcore U.S fans he’s the real with Khan fighting guys like Paul McCloskey, Paulie Malignaggi and Judah instead of hard sluggers like Mike Alvarado, Lucas Matthysse and fighting rematches with Marcos Maidana and Breidis Prescott. Khan could become a big star in the U.S if he would fight those guys and wasn’t in such a big hurry to land the Mayweather fight, but he’s rushing it. Khan is like someone drawing the cart before the horse.

If Khan wants to get the Mayweather fight and become a big star, he needs to prove himself slowly in the correct manner by taking on the best fighters in the division, not angling to get fights against old guys that were just beaten like Erik Morales. What is that?

 

[heyzel]

Wladimir will fight Adamek if Vitali can’t make it

By Dan Ambrose: With WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KO’s) rumored to have halted his training camp for his September 10th fight against Tomasz Adamek (44-1, 28 KO’s) to rush back to Ukraine to deal with the political crisis going on in the country right now, there’s no worry about the Adamek fight date being called off.

Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother of Vitali, is reportedly the backup plan for this fight if Vitali can’t make it. Vitali will likely take the fight with Adamek but if he decides to stay in Ukraine and continue helping out on that end, it will make it necessary for Wladimir to step in and take on Adamek.

It’s all the same, though, because Wladimir will be just as tough on the smaller Adamek than Vitali would be. Wladimir might even be a much tougher option for Adamek because with Wladimir’s good ability to move around the ring and with his powerful jab, Adamek would be in way over his head without a hope.

None of the things that Adamek has done in the past – using movement, playing hit and run – would likely work. Adamek would get picked apart by Wladimir’s jab and then blasted out by one of his right hands. Hopefully, Vitali can still make the Adamek fight but if not, Wladimir is more than capable of making easy work of Adamek as a fill in.

Wladimir just finished easily beating WBA heavyweight champion David Haye on July 2nd, and beating a similar mover-runner like Adamek would be an easy fight for Wladimir to prepare for. There would be no learning curve in dealing with Adamek’s style. It would be like facing Haye once you took away Haye’s hand speed and huge power.

 

[heyzel]

Ward mapping out his future after Froch, wants Bute and Kessler

By Sean McDaniel: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KO’s) always is mapping out his future direction after his Super Six finals bout against WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KO’s) on October 29th at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ward, 27, wants to fight International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight champion Lucian Bute next after Froch and then provided that Ward can get by Bute, he wants to fight a rematch against Mikkel Kessler, who Ward easily beat by a 11th round technical decision in his first fight of the Super Six tournament in 2009.

Ward doesn’t like the fact that he never got credit by a certain segment of boxing fans and wants to make it clear that his win over Kessler was no fluke by showing that he can do it again just as easily as he did the first time. While I can see Ward getting a fight against Bute, I don’t think Kessler will want any part of a rematch with Ward. It was too one-sided, and I doubt Kessler will want a second helping of Ward, not when he can pick up the WBO super middleweight title the easy way with a win over the current champion Robert Stieglitz. Kessler can easily hold onto that title for at least two years with the kinds of fighters that the World Boxing Organization has ranked in their top 15.

Speaking with ringtv, Ward said “We have business with Carl Froch to handle, first and foremost. But beyond that, obviously, you know, Lucian Bute is a natural fight we could take a look at. There’s also a rematch with Mikkel Kessler.”

Ward goes on to say that he might consider moving up to the light heavyweight division to take on certain fighters. However, Ward would still fight mainly at super middleweight. He’s not really interested in taking on 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins, a fighter who many boxing fans think Ward fights similar to. He would fight him if the fight “Made sense” in terms of money but he feels it’s not really necessary because of all the other guys out there for him to fight.

To get to the Bute and Kessler fights, Ward has to win the Froch bout. To do that he’s going to have to show a good work rate and a willingness to slug at times because that’s what Froch will no doubt be trying to do.

 

[heyzel]

De La Hoya: I’m giving Ortiz the formula to beat Mayweather

By Eric Thomas: Promoter Oscar De La Hoya claims to possess the formula to beat undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr and will be passing that knowledge on to Golden Boy Promotions fighter WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO’s) for his September 17th fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr (41-0, 25 KO’s) in their mega fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

De La Hoya previously fought Mayweather in May 2007, losing by a 12 round split decision in a fight where Mayweather appeared to carry an aging 35-year-old De La Hoya for the full 12 rounds. Mayweather took it easy on De La Hoya for the first six rounds and then turned on the gas to effortlessly pull away in the second part of the fight.

De La Hoya said this on his twitter account: “Me and [Jose Luis] Castillo have been the closest in beating Mayweather. Believe me, I have the formula which I’m going to pass on to Victor.”

That sounds like a pipe dream on De La Hoya’s part. The only formula he has is one in which he’ll tell Ortiz to stick to his jab and try and box Mayweather for the full 12 rounds. De La Hoya was finding success in the first six rounds against Mayweather when he was throwing a lot of jabs. In the second half of the fight, De La Hoya switched offer to trying to slug with Mayweather and ended up getting out-boxed. De La Hoya has repeatedly said in the years following the Mayweather loss that he wishes he had continued using his jab instead of trying to punch.

Ortiz doesn’t have the boxing skills that De La Hoya possessed, so even if he does try and ape De La Hoya he’s not going to find the same kind of success. Ortiz is a slugger first and foremost and he looks stiff and awkward when he attempts to box.

 

[Timm]

By Dan Ambrose: With WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KO’s) rumored to have halted his training camp for his September 10th fight against Tomasz Adamek (44-1, 28 KO’s) to rush back to Ukraine to deal with the political crisis going on in the country right now, there’s no worry about the Adamek fight date being called off.

Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother of Vitali, is reportedly the backup plan for this fight if Vitali can’t make it. Vitali will likely take the fight with Adamek but if he decides to stay in Ukraine and continue helping out on that end, it will make it necessary for Wladimir to step in and take on Adamek.

It’s all the same, though, because Wladimir will be just as tough on the smaller Adamek than Vitali would be. Wladimir might even be a much tougher option for Adamek because with Wladimir’s good ability to move around the ring and with his powerful jab, Adamek would be in way over his head without a hope.

None of the things that Adamek has done in the past – using movement, playing hit and run – would likely work. Adamek would get picked apart by Wladimir’s jab and then blasted out by one of his right hands. Hopefully, Vitali can still make the Adamek fight but if not, Wladimir is more than capable of making easy work of Adamek as a fill in.

Wladimir just finished easily beating WBA heavyweight champion David Haye on July 2nd, and beating a similar mover-runner like Adamek would be an easy fight for Wladimir to prepare for. There would be no learning curve in dealing with Adamek’s style. It would be like facing Haye once you took away Haye’s hand speed and huge power.

Vitali needs to be stripped of that belt

 

[heyzel]

Khan: Timothy Bradley will never get to fight Pacquiao or Mayweather, he can’t sell

By Sean McDaniel: Frustrated that he can’t get a fight against World Boxing Organization (WBO) light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KO’s), WBA Super World light welterweight champ Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) chose to vent his frustrations on his twitter account today, saying that Bradley has zero chance of getting fights against Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr in the future because he’s not able to sell tickets. Khan doesn’t see either of those big named fighters choosing to take on a guy like Bradley who hasn’t proven that he can put fans in seats.

Khan said “Timothy Bradley might as well retire undefeated as a fight with him versus Floyd or Manny will never happen and doesn’t make sense. He can’t even sell a 100 tickets in his back garden and doesn’t want to fight the best at 140…P**sy. I fought [Andriy] Kotelnik, [Paulie] Malignaggi, [Marcos] Maidana, [Paul] McCloskey, [Zab] Judah, who were all in the top 10 and the rest don’t want to fight apart from [Lamont] Peterson and [Robert] Guerrero. There is not much I can do apart from beating the person they put in front of me.”

To be fair, Bradley did already beat Peterson quite easily, Devon Alexander, Kendall Holt, Miguel Vazquez, Luis Carlos Abregu and Junior Witter. Those are pretty good fighters and would match-up with the guys that Khan has fought in the past. Indeed, Vazquez is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight champion, and Alexander previously held the IBF/WBC titles at light welterweight. He’s no pushover.

As for Khan’s thoughts about Bradley never getting a fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao, I think he’s dead wrong. Bradley is very much on the radar screen of Pacquiao, especially if he signs with Top Rank. It’s a given that Bradley will fight Pacquiao if that happens. Even if he doesn’t sign with Top Rank, he’ll still likely get a shot at Pacquiao. With Khan moving up in weight to the welterweight division, Bradley will still continue to be the top fighter in the division and will be a mouth-watering opponent for either Pacquiao or Mayweather to choose.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez: I’d fight Pacquiao or Mayweather at 154 lbs

By Chris Williams: Sergio Martinez is willing to come down from 160 lbs to take on either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr at a catch weight of 154 lbs, which I feel is more than fair catch weight limit. Martinez has taken some grief from boxing fans for picking out the two biggest names in boxing – Mayweather and Pacquiao – instead of looking at bigger guys at 168 to fight.

Martinez is already trying to get fights against the biggest names at middleweight with no luck. At 154, he’d like to fight Saul Alvarez but hasn’t had any nibbles for his offer to fight him. Who else is there but Mayweather and Pacquiao? Martinez says he’d fight Andre Ward or Arthur Abraham at a catch weight of 164, so perhaps this could be a fight in the future for Martinez once he defeats his next opponent Darren Barker on October 1st and perhaps Julio Cesar Chavez Jr after that if Chavez Jr ever agrees to fight him.

Martinez said this at eastsideboxing.com’s On the Ropes Boxing Radio: “Let’s [Mayweather or Pacquiao] do a catch weight or let’s fight at 154 pounds for a 154 pound title. Now fans are asking me to come up in weight. Well that would be crazy for me to go up to 168 pounds. Now if Arthur Abraham or Andre Ward want to meet me at a catch weight of 164 pounds and the money is right. I’d be willing to do that.”

Martinez can pretty much forget about ever getting a fight against Pacquiao. That isn’t going to happen. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum doesn’t want him fighting bigger fighters like Martinez, even though he’s actually smaller than Antonio Margarito, a fighter that was recently matched against Pacquiao. The thing is even if Martinez were to fight at the same weight as Pacquiao, it wouldn’t be fair because Martinez has one punch power. He’d be lighting Pacquiao up with straight left hands all night long for as long as it lasts, and the southpaw Pacquiao wouldn’t have any advantage in the fight because Martinez is a southpaw as well and very fast on his feet. He’s not slowing down, and it would be a fight where Pacquiao would have an excellent chance of being knocked out. As such, it won’t happen. Mayweather, though, has already made mention of maybe wanting to fight Martinez in the future. That’s the guy that Martinez needs to be talking about.

 

[heyzel]

Khan: I’m the biggest draw to fight Mayweather other than Pacquiao

By William Mackay: Amir Khan takes exception to what Floyd Mayweather Jr had to say about him yesterday in an interview where Mayweather pointed out that Khan didn’t draw many boxing fans for his recent fight against Zab Judah.

Mayweather instead suggested that Khan would be a good opponent for one of his fighters in his promotional stable Jessie Vargas, who is unbeaten at 16-0, 9 KO’s. Khan doesn’t appear to be at all interested in fighting the lesser known Vargas, however.

Khan said this on his twitter account today: “I’m not a big enough draw to fight in 2012, and Victor Ortiz [Mayweather's next opponent] is right now? No disrespect to Victor Ortiz. He’s a great fighter and a very good friend, but he’s fought on my undercard twice. I’ll be ready to fight Floyd. In two fights time, if he [Mayweather] wants to fight this year, I would but Floyd Mayweather only talks down on fighters who are threats to him. As a fighter if you want to be the best you have to fight the best and my time has come…I will be the biggest draw two fight Floyd after Manny Pacquiao, and they know that.”

I don’t think so. Khan may not realize this because he’s been living in England his whole life, but Ortiz’s fights have been shown on HBO for quite some time now. He’s not a new comer by any means. Boxing fans are very familiar with him and this is why Mayweather chose him to fight and not the still largely obscure Khan. Ortiz just beat one of the top three welterweights in the division in Andre Berto. He’s not taking on old fighters like Zab Judah or unknown guys like Paul McCloskey like Khan.

I think Mayweather is right about Khan. He’s not a big enough draw for him to fight right now. Maybe that can change if Khan would step it up and try and redeem his 1st round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott, and fight the winner of the Marcos Maidana vs. Roberto Guerrero. If Khan fights those two fights, he’ll have gone a long ways towards putting his name on the boxing map in the United States. But facing Judah, Paul McCloskey and Paulie Maligaggi reeks of Khan being carefully matched to put him in with guys he can beat without much risk involved. I say put Khan back in with Prescott and Maidana with a hands off referee like Steve Smoger to work the fights. I’d like to see how Khan would do in those fights – not that he’d take them mind you.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

By William Mackay: While all WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan can talk about is a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr for 2012, Mayweather has different ideas and is now questioning whether Khan is a big enough draw for him to waste time fighting. This comes after Khan’s somewhat disappointing attendance numbers against the aging Zab Judah.

Khan won the fight by a 5th round TKO against a fighter that showed all the hallmarks of being over the hill with Judah’s inability to let his hands go.

In interview at fighthype.com, Mayweather indicated that he’d like to see Khan face one of his fighters Jessie Vargas (16-0, 9 KO’s) instead of fighting him. Mayweather said “He [Khan] don’t really want that; not selling 2500 tickets and having a bunch of giveaways.”

I agree with Mayweather. It’s too early for a Khan-Mayweather fight because Khan isn’t a star in the U.S among casual boxing fans and still has yet to convince hardcore U.S fans he’s the real with Khan fighting guys like Paul McCloskey, Paulie Malignaggi and Judah instead of hard sluggers like Mike Alvarado, Lucas Matthysse and fighting rematches with Marcos Maidana and Breidis Prescott. Khan could become a big star in the U.S if he would fight those guys and wasn’t in such a big hurry to land the Mayweather fight, but he’s rushing it. Khan is like someone drawing the cart before the horse.

If Khan wants to get the Mayweather fight and become a big star, he needs to prove himself slowly in the correct manner by taking on the best fighters in the division, not angling to get fights against old guys that were just beaten like Erik Morales. What is that?

those are some odd remarks from floyd. I don't want to see a floyd-khan fight either right now, but Khan is a pretty good draw, has better ratings then Ortiz on HBO, and has a HUGE UK market. The UK PPV buys would be astronomical if that fight went down and obviously floyd would get a huge payday off that alone. Not too mention if they fought in the UK it would obviously sell out a stadium of their choice.

Also weird he says he's ducking 22 year old Jessie Vargas who's not even ranked in the top 10. But I understand what he's doing there that's his fighter and he's just getting his name out there.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez: “I never said hey Mayweather, hey Pacquiao, come up to 160 pounds. I

Sergio Martinez: “I never said hey Mayweather, hey Pacquiao, come up to 160 pounds. I never said that! I’m hoping to do a catch weight. The lowest I can make is 154 pounds.”

by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - Last week’s 136th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with reigning middleweight king Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) who is scheduled to face Darren Barker (23-0, 14 KOs) on October 1 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martinez spoke about his upcoming fight and also shared opinions on various other topics pertaining to the current boxing landscape, including Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Junior, Paul Williams, the Super Six, and more! Here is a complete transcript from that interview:

JENNA J: Let’s move to our fourth and final guest of this week’s show, one that I’m proud to have return to our program. He is the reigning middleweight champion of the world. We are joined by Sergio Martinez.

SERGIO MARTINEZ: Hello! How are you guys doing? This is Sergio!

JENNA: I’m doing very well Sergio. Well you have a title defense coming up on October 1 against Darren Barker, an undefeated fighter from the UK. Can you tell us a little bit more about your opponent?

MARTINEZ: Every English fighter I ever fought, and he’s a very typical of British fighters, they’re tough fighters! They come to fight and I know he’s definitely going to come and try to keep that undefeated record. I’ll definitely be ready to go.

JENNA: Alright now the fact that Barker is undefeated but relatively unknown kind of makes this a no-lose scenario for him. Does that make him a dangerous opponent for you?

MARTINEZ: Yeah you know he is going to be the same rival Dzinziruk. I mean nobody knew Dzinziruk, and as you can see that was a very tough fight for me. I believe that will be the same case for this fight.

JENNA: Okay now Sergio, this opponent was chosen because others would not meet you in the ring, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior. How disappointing is it for you to not get those marquee names?

MARTINEZ: It’s a shame. A European champion needs to come to the States and challenge me, and it’s only the boxing fans and the American fans who are losing on that, but these fights need to be made.

JENNA: Now Sergio, what do you think it’s going to take for you to get those marquee names to want to fight you?

MARTINEZ: I need to continue doing what I’m doing. I need to keep fighting and I need to keep fighting the best and in due time, these rivals have to fight me! There will be a point where they’re going to have to fight me. I want to be the guy that I want them to come and try to beat. So it’s all a matter of time.

JENNA: Great! Well Sergio, we’re also on the line with my Co-Host Geoff Ciani.

MARTINEZ: It’s my pleasure to be on your show. Thank you very much.

CIANI: Thank you. Now you mentioned that you think it will happen eventually in time, but do you think that either Pacquiao or Mayweather would be willing to fight you before they first fought each other so that they don’t risk that payday that’s been looming for them for so long?

MARTINEZ: You know I got to keep hope alive. I hope they fight me first. I don’t know, but with wishful thinking I am hoping they choose to fight me first.

CIANI: Now one of the criticisms that you’ve been receiving from fans on the message boards, is I see a lot of people saying that since you expect Pacquiao and Mayweather to move up and fight you that you should be equally willing to step up to 168 to fight some of the better guys up there. I’m just curious what do you think of these views from certain fans?

MARTINEZ: No, I mean just to keep it clear I never said to Pacquiao or Mayweather to come up to my weight at 160 pounds. No! I never said that! What I said in the past is hey, let’s make an agreement! Let’s do a catch weight or let’s fight at 154 pounds for a 154 pound title. Now fans are asking me to come up in weight. Well that would be crazy for me to go up to 168 pounds. Now if Arthur Abraham or Andre Ward want to meet me at a catch weight of 164 pounds and the money is right, I’d be willing to do that. But I never said hey Mayweather, hey Pacquiao, come up to 160 pounds. I never said that! I’m hoping to do a catch weight. The lowest I can make is 154 pounds. The highest as of right now in my career would be 164 pounds if the money is right.

CIANI: Back to your upcoming fight against Darren Barker, you’ve scored two impressive stoppage victories in your last two fights against guys who had never previously been stopped. Is that the plan going into this training camp this time? To work on scoring another knockout victory against a man who’s never been knocked out?

MARTINEZ: First of all my plan is to fight a very intelligent fight, and if the knockout comes up and the knockout’s available, then I’m definitely going to take advantage of that and knock him out.

CIANI: What do you think your biggest advantage is going into this fight?

MARTINEZ: Probably the most important advantage that I have would be the experience, and I have a great training camp and I prepare myself very well. But my experience will probably be my biggest advantage.

JENNA: Alright now Sergio, to most people’s accounts you haven’t really lost a fight since you lost to Antonio Margarito earlier in your career. For an opponent facing you, what do you think they need to do to beat you?

MARTINEZ: Well I fought a very close fight against Paul Williams. You can say hey I lost that fight or it was a draw or I won, but I think the keys to victory would be to be well prepared, to really prepare yourself and train really hard outside the ring. A lot of fighters get distracted or have a lot of different things that come up, but that would be the thing—to beat me in the gym.

JENNA: Alright well you mentioned Paul Williams for a second, and he recently had a controversial win against Erislandy Lara and he called you out after the match. Would you at all be interested in a third with him or would you be looking to have a different opponent after you fight Darren Barker?

MARTINEZ: You know everybody saw that fight and I saw the same fight and I feel the same way as everybody feels. Yes, he did lose that fight. It was very clear, and I don’t want to sound arrogant or whatever, but no I don’t think a third fight would be necessary. Talk is cheap, and he’s not at that level any more. For him to call out my name like that, he has to call out my name because he still wants to stay at that level which he is not. So I don’t think that fight would be necessary for me to fight him.

JENNA: Okay well there is another fighter out there that you’ve had interest in getting into the ring with. He was ranked number one for a long time and now he holds your former WBC middleweight title, and that’s Julio Cesar Chavez Junior. He says he’ll be willing to fight you early next year. Do you believe that will actually be the case?

MARTINEZ: I believe 110% in the WBC. I believe they’ll do whatever is necessary to make this fight possible. On the other case, I don’t believe in Chavez Junior because I don’t think he’ll show up. Hopefully if this fight happens he shows up, and he doesn’t no-show me.

CIANI: Sergio you spoke about Paul Williams before and he’s a fighter that doesn’t seem to be the same since you fought him, and another fighter who doesn’t seem the same since you fought him is Kelly Pavlik. I’m wondering if you think he ever will be the same again?

MARTINEZ: You know history shows all my rivals that I’ve fought haven’t been the same, you know from Bunema, Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams. I’m hoping that he’s been able to train hard and really actually gotten better. We’ll have to see.

CIANI: Now you mentioned earlier you might be willing to face somebody like Andre Ward at a catch weight of 164. I’m wondering, if Pacquiao and Mayweather never come around, would you be interested in facing the winner of the Super Six Final matchup between Andre Ward and Carl Froch?

MARTINEZ: Yes, you know anything is possible. Definitely we would have to negotiate and I would definitely be interested in a catch weight. We will wait and see.

JENNA: Alright well Sergio we just have a few more questions before we let you off the line. Since you’re 36 years old, a lot of fans contend that if you somehow lose to Barker that it could spell the end of your career. Do you think if that scenario did play out that way, that it would be the end for you?

MARTINEZ: (laughs) No, that doesn’t even cross my mind. I’m not going to lose against Darren Barker. My goal is to become champion at 160 pounds for the WBC and to be pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.

JENNA: Sergio from what you’re saying some fans might actually get the impression that you’re underestimating Darren Barker. Do you think you could at all possibly do that?

MARTINEZ: I never underestimate any of my fighters. I take all my fighters very seriously and all my fights. I’m ranked number two pound-for-pound in the world, and my job is to continue to become the best and to have a great fight for my fans.

JENNA: Alright well Sergio you’re 36 years old now and some fans contend that the fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao are actually waiting for you to get a little bit older and show signs of decline before they would get into the ring with you. Do you believe that may be the case why they haven’t faced you at this point?

MARTINEZ: Yeah that’s definitely a possibility. I’m pretty sure that’s probably what their intentions are. I mean Pacquiao is fighting everybody that’s either 36, or 37, or 38, and it’s the same thing with Mayweather, besides taking on Ortiz. A lot of his opponents are really much older so that might be the case.

JENNA: Okay now you mentioned Mayweather’s opponent Victor Ortiz. That fight’s coming up in September and obviously you’d be interested in the winner of it, but do you think a fighter like Victor Ortiz who’s young and hungry would actually have a good shot of upsetting Floyd Mayweather Junior?

MARTINEZ: Yeah Ortiz has the ability to make a great fight, but I believe Mayweather will win the fight with ease and he’ll be victorious.

JENNA: Well I have just two more questions. With the fight with Darren Barker I want to get your official prediction. How does it play out?

MARTINEZ: I’m going to look for the knockout, I’m going to work hard, and I’m going to get it before the sixth round.

JENNA: Okay and finally, is there anything you want to say to the fans that are going to come out to go see you in Atlantic City?

MARTINEZ: Yes everybody is invited to come out to Atlantic City to Boardwalk Hall. It’s going to be a great fight. It will be the best fight of my career, so please come out and check it out and if you can’t make it tune in to HBO. It’s going to be one of my best fights, so thank you.

JENNA: Alright well Sergio it’s been a pleasure having you on the show yet again. Thank you for your time and we’re looking forward to seeing you in the ring on October 1.

MARTINEZ: Likewise, thank you very much. You know how to find me, so definitely any time you want me to be on the show give me a call.

CIANI: Thanks Sergio! Best of luck.

MARTINEZ: Thank you very much. Thank you!

***

On the Ropes Boxing Radio would like to give special thanks to Cecilio Flores for translating this interview.

***

 

[WYNO707X4]

khan needs to stfu....he aint shit in the u.s in britin a ping pong final usa vs a brit it would sell a stadium 2 them fooz dont know shit about boxing u could sell anything out there

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Khan has the highest ratings on HBO the past couple years that only Bernard Hopkins vs Pascal II did better and Canelo is right at his mark as well. So the ratings show when he fights people are tuning in.

I'm not arguing he SHOULD be worthy of fighting floyd now, just disagreeing with floyd when he said he's not a draw. And that UK money, that's a lot of money. That was one of the big reasons he fought Ricky Hatton. Hatton of course had a traveling army of 20k which no man currently has today, but I'm sure Floyd-Khan would easily sell out a venue at Vegas.

 

[WYNO707X4]

canelo vs floyd @ 154 would be more bigger....canelo is a bigger draw than khan in mexico and the usa. canelo vs pacquiao in mexico estadio azteca shit 105,000 plus.....khan is just talking like he some hot shit he aint

 

[2-0-Sixx]

well yeah, I'm not arguing that. Canelo is obviously hugely popular.

I don't see the problem with Khan expressing his desire to fight Floyd, he wants to fight the best so that's what you want out of fighters. Canelo had said he wants to fight pacquiao that's no different really. Khan just talks about it more frequently.

 

[WYNO707X4]

more frequently or it seems every five minutes lol he needs to fight more earn it dont beg for it

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I agree he needs to earn it and to be fair he said he thinks if he can win one or two more big fights the floyd fight can happen.