Sergio Martinez... What's happened?

[armin]

His style isn't one to carry well into old age, hell it was surprising to see him do well at 35 with his style. Injury and age saddly have taken its toll, if I was his management id have him fight a soft touch for a return bout and then a big payday retirement fight.

[p4pking]

Yea, it's very unlikely he'll return to form imo. Knee injuries are nasty things and he is a guy who relies so much on his legs. I'd be surprised if he looks good enough to make the big fights terribly interesting at this point, but hope I'm wrong he was great to watch.

[Colinc]

I think he should fight GGG to c if he lives up to the hype, but don't c that happening,

[TitoFan]

Lot of good points made in the thread.

Sergio IS extremely deserving of his fame... but IMO he has let it get to his head a little bit, which on the other hand is understandable, and he's certainly not the only great fighter this has happened to. And yes, he did underestimate a very focused and game Murray... plus the added pressure of putting on a show in front of his home crowd. I think Sergio got away with one there.

He did begin late in boxing, and thus he's probably not mentally ready to hang them up just yet... regardless of what his body is telling him. And another good point was made regarding our expectations as fans that fighters can fight effectively well into their 40's. That is not the norm, and in fact can turn out to be rather dangerous, IMO.

The most important point of all is one I've made myself over and over again. Sergio's biggest mistake was coming back from his leg injury suffered against JCC Jr. way too soon. He should've given his old body a bit more time to recover fully. But he didn't, and now he's paying the price. It's a shame, because in a fight where he was totally dominating, schooling, and humiliating his opponent... he hurts his leg.... and then doesn't give himself the time to heal properly. Which is why talk of JCC ruining Martinez after the fight is so blatantly foolish and ignorant. If anybody ruined Martinez, it was Martinez himself... by not paying attention to his body's needs. We're not talking a 25-year young man here.

Bottom line is, Sergio is an extremely well-liked, respected boxing champion. He represents his country well. Not in the shameful way other fighters conduct themselves. He's never been suspected (that I know of thus far) as a drug cheat..... he's never resorted to using plaster in his gloves..... and he can put two sentences together without sounding like the village idiot.

I wish him well, no matter what his future is.