Okay since I am new here, I'm sure that I am going to get blasted here, and lose what little rep points I have, but I am going to defend Sergio.

First that video is old, that was done even before The Contender was shot, and he only had 11 or 12 pro-fights at the time, so do you really expect him to do a number on Margarito at that time, come on.

Okay, Sergio won The Contender, so what. He knows, as well as you and I both know, that is not a real title, so why is everyone expecting him to take a big jump into a championship fight right away. He entered that show with only 12 pro-fights under his belt, which means a good portion of his record is the 5 round fights from the show. Plus, compared to most fighters, he is a late starter, since he didn't start boxing until he was 16, plus he has never gone 12 rounds, yet everyone is expecting him to compete at a championship level right away.

He knows, and has admitted, that he was not ready for Taylor. He knows that he has to build his boxing resume, and earn a title shot, just like every other respectable boxer has done. Everyone is saying that Manfredo and Gomez showed some balls by stepping up to world champions. Well they didn't take a step, they took a leap, and look how well that turned out for Manfredo, all he got was a big paycheck to look like a fool, and his career has nose dived ever since, and Gomez is about to go through the same humiliation as Manfredo. But they still have their balls right? I say Sergio was the smart one by not taking a leap before he was ready, and I think that it takes more balls and courage to say no, than to say yes to something you are clearly not ready for, especially since he knew all the crap he would take for it.

Did he say he would like to fight Pavlik? Yes he did, but he didn't say that he wants to fight him right now. Every rising prospect says that they would like to fight the champion, so why is he being blasted for saying what every middleweight fighter is saying? Is he ready for Pavlik? No, and he knows it.

You want to compare him to Pavlik, okay, let's do that. (First, in no way am I criticizing Pavlik, I am a huge fan of Kelly's, he a local guy who's career I have been supporting for sometime now.) Go and look at who Kelly was fighting at the same stage as Sergio's career now, he was fighting the same type of guys, with the same type of records, as the guys that Sergio is fighting now. Kelly did it the smart, and right way, he slowly worked his way up in the level of competition he faced, and that is what Sergio is attempting to do as well. Remember Pavlik did not get that title shot until his 32nd fight, Sergio only has 21 fights, so cut the guy some slack, and let him grow as a fighter. He has skills, but they are skills that he is still developing.

I've actually gotten the chance to get to know Sergio, and he is a very down to earth guy. He is very respectful, and very honest. He will, and has, come right out say that he has sucked in some of his fights. Like the Ayala fight, he didn't walk out of the ring pissed off over the decision, he was pissed off at himself for fighting so poorly, and he even said so in the post fight press conference, and interviews. Trust me, he knows when he doesn't fight well, and nothing pisses him off more than that.

So all I'm trying to say is that Sergio is not the jerk that many of you think he is, and I think he should be given the chance to develop his boxing skills the right way, and not sink his career by jumping into a fight that he is not ready for.