Barker v Martinez 1st Oct

We're going to have to agree to disagree. However, before I go further, in the sake of progressing with the argument, what fights would you like to see Sergio take to merit his p4p ranking?

I'll explain why people rank Sergio so high, first in what he has done himself, and then in relation to what other people have done. At the time that Paul Williams fought Sergio Martinez he was a top 5 p4p fighter and dubbed the most "feared fighter on the planet" and at the time he fought Kelly Pavlik he was the lineal middleweight champion. Add to that the facts that he is a multi-division champ and the serious manner in which he dispels his opponents and you and you have the reasons why he is ranked as high as he is.

Now, you may say that Kelly Pavlik wasn't all that NOW, but at the time, he was perceived to be a beast. He had only lost to Bernard Hopkins and that was at 10 pounds above the weight class he ha fought his career at. Pavlik had recently destroyed the best middleweight in the world in Jermain Taylor. Now, since then, Kelly Pavlik has lost his career in the bottle and hasn't looked as good, but at the time, without 20/20 hindsight, he was looked at as a beast. Go read articles about Kelly Pavlik two years ago and you'll see that is evident.

You'll find the same about Paul Williams. Without 20/20 hindsight, when Sergio fought Paul Williams, Paul had destroyed Winky Wright, Carlos Quintana and Verno Phillips. He looked like a beast. Now, Sergio may have destroyed Paul Williams in the same way that Joe Calzaghe destroyed Lacy because Paul Williams hasn't looked the same since.

Sergiy Dzinziruk, by boxing heads, was known to be the best at 154. Cotto may be ranked #1, but most people believed that Sergiy deserved that. Angulo and Williams declined to fight him when given the chance. Sergio dominated and destroyed the top 154 in the world.

Lastly, You mentioned Sergio Martinez in the same breadth as Marquez, Pacquiao, Mayweather, Calzaghe, etc., the best fighters of the last decade. That is a compliment in and of itself. I agree he isn't there yet and he may never be. He's already 36 in any event. Have no fear, he won't be top 2 for very long, as soon as Mayweather beats Ortiz, he'll be number 3.[/QUOTE]


Great points!