If Martinez is the best fighter in the sport how about fighting Ward, Kessler, Froch,

[generalbulldog]

Let's get back on topic. If Martinez is the best fighter in the sport as a lot of people have claimed, why not move up to fight Andre Ward or any top 168 pound fighter. Since his division sucks. Hell it was just mentioned that Cotto should move up to 160 and fight him.

So everyone from the lower weights should move up to fight Martinez, but Martinez is given a pass to not move up?

Great logic ain't it?

I hear ya General. It just kills me that the middleweight champ, one of the sport's storied divisions, has to go hunting like this for a challenge. it's crazy!

I STILL say the right thing to do is spend the next twelve months doing a 160 Bum of the Month Club. Just start knocking the Ring ranked 160's off one after another. Fight 6-8 times in the next 12 months. By then hopefully a couple of the largely unproven younguns, Saul Alvarez, Chavez Jr, Lee, Fernando Guerrero, Bursak from Germany, Martyrosian, Erislandy Lara, etc. will have separated themselves.

Of course if Williams or Pavlik or Abraham want a shot at 160 along the way that works too.

I agree Guerrero is the name there who I think could really bring something. Granted I had him losing to Ishe Smith, but I'm of the opinion that Smith could give absolute hell to any of the top guys from 154-160, probably Martinez excepted. Anyway Guerrero has a huge fanbase in Maryland, is a really engaging guy & has bags of power.

There's also hope that Jacobs can rebound from the Pirog loss, although that's probably another year away also. Korobov as well. There's a whole group of hungry .young MWs who could be very good.

I think another, if he plans to make MW, who could be very good sooner than that is Peter Quillin. Bags of power & speed & appears to have been brought along very well. Another two fights & he could fight for an alphabet & win imo & then might be the best choice for Martinez.

Martinez probably will have to do a 'bum' of the month thing because it's unrealistic that either Pacquiao or Mayweather should have to move up any more particularly with how outsized they looked against opponents at 154. I think the main thing is HBO has to be realistic & try to bring guys like Sturm, Pirog & Geale to the table in terms of the money they put up for the shows.

Ishe is a great measuring stick isn't he? Korobov is a name I had forgotten and he belongs on that list. I wonder if Sergio doesn't belong in Europe for a while. I wonder if he could make decent money with Sturm, N'Jikam, Sylvester, Golovkin. Try to build a real following and do what the Klitschkos do?

But with HBO on board that's probably a loser of an idea.

If I'm not mistaken, Sergio's parents are Spaniards that immigrated to Argentina. So maybe Sergio could fight out of Spain or some place in Europe something like that and tries to make gobs of money fighting mediocre opposition like the Klits?