Sergio Martinez Past His Prime ?

[Fenster]

Age is nothing but a number and it is all in the mind

Whenever anyone says that they need a slap back into reality. Fact.

George Foreman?
Bernard Hopkins?
Vitali Klitschko?

The list goes on fella.

Does the list really go on? I'm pretty certain the list of fighters (make that all sportsmen) diminished through old age is a lot bigger.

[Vendettos]

Age is nothing but a number and it is all in the mind

Whenever anyone says that they need a slap back into reality. Fact.

George Foreman?
Bernard Hopkins?
Vitali Klitschko?

The list goes on fella.

Does the list really go on? I'm pretty certain the list of fighters (make that all sportsmen) diminished through old age is a lot bigger.

Agreed, but this isn't every sport mate.

Getting slower when you're a sprinter is bad.

Eyesight diminishing when you're a snooker player is bad.

"The last thing to go is you're punch" which means at boxing when "one punch can change everything" anybody can stay at the top for a long time.

I agree age is an issue for boxers, but in this sport it's easy to go longer than in most other sports.

[Rantcatrat]

I think we need one more performance out of Sergio Martinez to determine if he is passed his prime. I thought he performed as his typical self for large parts of the Murray fight. For my money, Martinez fights in sputs, a bit like Canleo in that respect. A lot of times, he'll win a few rounds, only to take a few rounds off. Here, Murray put him down in a few of the rounds he took off. Still, I had Martinez winning clearly the first four rounds and the last two rounds. That's what a champion does. I guess the bottom line is that he might still have a great performance or two in front of him. He's admitted that he won't fight after the age of 40. At 38, and with him out for the rest of the year, that means he's got one or two more fights, and he'll call it quits.

I don't know who he fights though at this point. I would like to see him in with Geale or Canelo. I'm one who believes we don't need to see him spank Junior around again, if Junior is even fighting at 160 any longer, given that his next fight is scheduled to be at 165. GGG has all year to build a case for a fight with Martinez. Let's see how he does against Macklin, and the opponent after Macklin, should he beat Macklin. Quillin fights on Showtime with Golden Boy so that fight will never happen unless the current circumstances change.

[Kirkland Laing]

He's getting injured every fight now. His promoter apparently said before this fight that he needed more surgeries to clear up other injuries. That was before he broke his hand. He keeps getting up after being knocked over but I think Quillin or GGG would stop him or KO him at this point in his career. And when his hand is better I don't think Chavez will be able to make 160, if he hasn't already lost to somebody else by then. Limited choices for big money fights in the US mean his next fight might be in Argentina too unless they work out something with Canelo/Mayweather..

We should run a sweepstake on how long it takes Sulaiman to make him Champion Emeritus and give Chavez his belt back.

[Rantcatrat]

Is Golvokin locked into HBO? I'm just wondering if there ever is the chance for Golovkin to face Kid Chocolate? Because, if and when he beats Macklin, that would be a great fight to make.

[Kirkland Laing]

I know HBO really like him but I don't think he's signed to them exclusively.

[Rantcatrat]

With Sergio out for the year, there is the opportunity for one of the middleweight titlists to move into the role of the next-best middleweight.

[TitoFan]

He's getting injured every fight now. His promoter apparently said before this fight that he needed more surgeries to clear up other injuries. That was before he broke his hand. He keeps getting up after being knocked over but I think Quillin or GGG would stop him or KO him at this point in his career. And when his hand is better I don't think Chavez will be able to make 160, if he hasn't already lost to somebody else by then. Limited choices for big money fights in the US mean his next fight might be in Argentina too unless they work out something with Canelo/Mayweather..

We should run a sweepstake on how long it takes Sulaiman to make him Champion Emeritus and give Chavez his belt back.

LOL..... count me in.
I'm gonna say somewhere between 2-3 months.

[Beanflicker]

I always thought Martinez was a tad overrated, and I hate to say that because it's always the cheap thing to do to knock a guy after a tough fight, but it's the truth. A great boxing talent, for sure, but I never put him in the same class as a Mayweather, Andre Ward or Bernard Hopkins. Too many flaws.

I don't know if he's past his prime per say, but I think he's always had a trouble with those tricky jabbers. Kelly Pavlik largely outboxed him in the early rounds of their fight IMO with his jab, until he got cut badly and kinda lost his focus.

But at Martinez's age to be taking the kind of punishment he has taken in his last few fights, I think probably does suggest that his reflexes are starting to fail him.

[Violent Demise]

I always thought Martinez was a tad overrated, and I hate to say that because it's always the cheap thing to do to knock a guy after a tough fight, but it's the truth. A great boxing talent, for sure, but I never put him in the same class as a Mayweather, Andre Ward or Bernard Hopkins. Too many flaws.

I don't know if he's past his prime per say, but I think he's always had a trouble with those tricky jabbers. Kelly Pavlik largely outboxed him in the early rounds of their fight IMO with his jab, until he got cut badly and kinda lost his focus.

But at Martinez's age to be taking the kind of punishment he has taken in his last few fights, I think probably does suggest that his reflexes are starting to fail him.

It was obvious his knee isn't the same. Murray is not a fast fighter. And he had no problems catching him

[Beanflicker]

It was obvious his knee isn't the same. Murray is not a fast fighter. And he had no problems catching him

Yeah, I'm rewatching the Pavlik fight now and already I can see a noticable decline in his footwork.

[TitoFan]

Yeah, I'm rewatching the Pavlik fight now and already I can see a noticable decline in his footwork.

And that was 3 years ago. There's no arguing that Martinez has been on a gradual, steady decline... at least physically. He's a seasoned veteran, so he's been able to get through the opposition in his last few fights. But his age and the wear and tear on his body has been evident for some time. People make the mistake of thinking he's still near his peak, maybe because of the thorough and humiliating schooling he delivered to Chavez Jr. in his previous fight. But make no mistake about it... Martinez's best days are far behind him.

[Violent Demise]

It was obvious his knee isn't the same. Murray is not a fast fighter. And he had no problems catching him

Yeah, I'm rewatching the Pavlik fight now and already I can see a noticable decline in his footwork.

The knee surgery is the worst thing that could of happened to him. He needs his legs to be successful. With them he's a great fighter. Without them he struggles to beat Murray.

[Beanflicker]

Yeah you guys are right, I've been watching bits of each fight and there's a steady physical decline.

It's a shame it took him so long to break through and become a "star".

[Rantcatrat]

Yeah you guys are right, I've been watching bits of each fight and there's a steady physical decline.

It's a shame it took him so long to break through and become a "star".

@Beanflicker - as a Martinez fan, I'm holding out hope that he has one or two more great performances left in him. As I mentioned in another thread, I noticed that he didn't look as cut up as he typically does for a fight. He appeared more fleshy. It could be attributed to the fact that his camp wasn't normal due to having to focus on his rehabilitating his knee. Thus, there is a chance that if he is able to completely rehabilitate his body before the training camp for his next fight that he might still have a great performance or two left in him.