Exclusive Boxing Interview: Sergio \”Maravilla\” Martinez

“The Future Of The 154lb Division is Here!”

Argentine light middleweight wrecking machine Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez has put together an impressive record of 35-1-1 (17) since joining the paid ranks in 1997 and the thirty year old southpaw has been successfully fighting out of Madrid, Spain since 2002. After an early loss to current WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito almost six years ago, Martinez has reeled off nineteen straight victories including

a rampage through Britain during 2003-4 where he won the IBO belt by decisioning reigning champion Richard Williams before knocking out the well respected Adrian Stone and the doing the same to Williams in a rematch. Since that time Martinez won the WBC Latino title by stopping Albert Airapetian in the eleventh round in March of this year and stopped two journeymen this autumn as the Argentine expatriate waits for a world title opportunity to materialize. “Maravilla” may not have to wait long as he currently occupies the number four position in the WBC world rankings at light middle. Read on for a thoroughly entertaining interview with this up and coming world class contender, only on SaddoBoxing.com

SB: Can you talk about whom you have been sparring with lately and how your training camps have been going?

SM: “In all my training camps before a fight, we just train with sparring sessions scheduled for a period of ten days, beginning fifteen days before the fight itself takes place. Before the sparring, we work through a stage of physical and technical training with the heavy bags. Some boxers who’ve helped me in camp are Petr Petrov, Gabriel Campillo or the amateur, Othman Annad, and all of them are with my manager, Ricardo Sánchez Atocha. Here in Madrid it is difficult to find level people in my weight class to work with. In the morning, at 5 am, we begin the aerobic work by running in the mountains on, a circuit with intensity change, to continue improving the resistance and the speed in my legs. In the evenings we were working on a fifteen round schedule (because the fight I was training for was only scheduled for eight rounds) that combined technical, tactical and strategic workouts. Physically, I am in the best shape of my career, as I show in my last fight in Cadiz, Spain. It is a certainty that when I reach my main goal of getting the opportunity to fight for a major world title, I will be at the peak of my physical fitness.

SB: Can you talk about your most recent appearance in the ring?

SM: “My last fight was scheduled for eight rounds, so I did not expose my WBC Latino title. There were several names, such as Oliver Tchinda, that were considered but finally, it was the Georgian, Tamaz Tskrialashvili that I ended up fighting. The fight lasted longer than we had wanted it too, because the organizers had changed the order of the fights in the last moment and I came into the ring after having to stay warmed up far longer than normal. I stopped my opponent in six rounds and finished the fight without excessive problems or any kind of damage.”

SB: You are obviously a very accomplished fighter who has only lost to future WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito. Can you tell us about that fight with Margarito?

SM: “On February 19, 2000 I had my first opportunity to fight in Las Vegas. I had only been fighting as a professional for about two years at that point and was unbeaten in seventeen fights. I was too raw and inexpert and it was too soon for me to be in a fight that was so important. During that fight, Margarito was superior to me in everything, even his ability to deal with a high pressure situation was solidly formed, something that’s fundamental in a boxer’s career. I paid for my lack of experience and refined skill with a KO defeat. To me it was a logical and just outcome given the situation. Since that time, Margarito has demonstrated that I had a great rival in front of me that night in Las Vegas. During the first three rounds I could dictate the action but I wasn’t able to dominate my rival. As it went on, Margarito’s great power was very damaging to my body and it was just a matter of time before the fight was stopped. In spite of the defeat, it was a great and very useful experience to have gone through in regards to the development of my career. Now, I am prepared to take my revenge, although I understand that he doesn’t dare to fight me at this point, because our interests are diverging.

SB: You went on to win several titles; what did it mean for you to win the IBO belt and how was it fighting in England, against two very tough British fighters?

SM: “When I was living in Argentina I had two title opportunities, first for the WBO Latino Welterweight belt and then one year later the Argentine Welter Championship. I won both of those titles and while the two belts were important achievements for me, they cannot be compared to winning the IBO Light Middle world championship in Manchester, England. The sensation that I felt is very difficult to describe because to win against an extraordinary boxer such as Richard Williams in his own country…I was feeling extra motivation and emotion. The fact that I faced and basically handled two tough British punchers, Williams and Adrian Stone, raised my confidence a great deal in regards to that idea that I am equipped to contend for a major world title. Lamentably, I had to give up my IBO title in order to compete in the rankings of more important entity, the WBC, but it would not be a problem for me to fight again for the IBO belt, if it was considering to be opportunity.”

SB: How did it feel to then go onto win the WBC Latino belt at light middle and can you tell us about that fight?

SM: “In March of this year, I won the WBC Latino by fighting Albert Airapetian and stopping him in the eleventh round. He is an unknown boxer worldwide but will probably have a very good career ahead of him. In the beginning, because his high height, he was very inconvenient, but little by little I could impose my style and control distance, taking the fight in the direction I wanted it to go in. From the sixth round, I could dominate almost completely all the actions, and got the stoppage before the fight ended. It was a logical end if you analyse the records, the perspectives and the statistics of each fighter. The sad events that happened after the fight are already forgotten; Airapetian was not at fault over the acts of his corner. This fight opened the WBC´s doors for me, and gave me the possibility to get higher up in the WBC rankings and to wait for a chance to contend for their world title.

SB: Will your next fight be a WBC Latino title defense?

SM: “At the present, I do not have any news about any upcoming fights. I’m waiting anxiously for a call from the USA, but everything seems to be stopped now. If you can obtain something for me in that department, I would be pleased, (laughs)

SB: Assumably at some point you’ll be due for a title opportunity against the full WBC Light Middleweight Champion, Ricardo Mayorga? Can you tell us how you feel about an opportunity to face Mayorga and how you think that fight will turn out?

SM: “I know that sooner or later, they will be forced to give me an opportunity to dispute the light middleweight title. If everything stays the same, then I would be fighting Mayorga. He is a boxer without orthodox characteristics and this is always complicated for his rivals. His courage, his valour, and his unconsciousness, these things lead him become overwhelming to everything in his path. My possibilities are enormous, not because his boxing skill level is lower than mine, not because his fists damage more or less than mine but because in every new fight my training (physical, technical and mental) gets better and better. All these things, added to a good strategic plan, give me the certainty to be in the place I need to be in to obtain the victory. I know the difficulty of this fight will be celebrated, almost all the high-level boxers are afraid of left-handed boxers. In addition, lamentably I have still not had conversations with any of the big North American promoters; it seems to be basic in the politics of the big boxing organizations. Sometimes I think that if they (DKP, Golden Boy or Top Rank) do not call me, I will never have the chance to fight for the title. It is unjust, isn’t it? This is Boxing.”

SB: Do you have anything else that you would like to say, perhaps a message to your fans?

“I greet my followers and send them an affectionate embrace, being grateful for the interest that they show towards my career. I know that a lot of them help me and offer to me his unconditional support. I know that I will reward each of them by winning the world championship in the USA. For SaddoBoxing´s readers and those who still do not know me, I have to say to them that in a little time they will see an Argentine boxer of good fundamental skill, good style and a lot of value become a champion. Whoever I fight in a title opportunity, it doesn’t matter to me. Anyone who is a lover of the skill of boxing, practiced as an art and similar to fencing, to hit and not be hit, they will have a faithful representative in me. I have the dream of being able to fight some day in the Luna Park, the legendary stadium in my country, Argentina. Until then I will say “Hasta la victoria, siempre”.