World title belt or no, Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KOs) once again showed why he is regarded as one of the top three pound for pound fighters on the planet on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, fighting through a possibly broken nose to knock out undefeated challenger Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KOs) to retain his titles in round eleven of a closely contested bout.

Martinez was as gracious as ever during the post-fight press conference, acknowledging the unknown European middleweight champion for giving him an excellent fight. “This was a difficult fight, as are all fights at this level,” admitted Martinez. “There are no easy fights in boxing. He was elusive and had a good defense.”

The fight was indeed a close one early on, as the 6-foot Barker (23-1, 14 KOs) walked the champion down behind a steady jab and a cagey defense to land sharp right hands. Martinez, fighting with his hands at his sides, was unable to avoid many of those jabs and seemed to be a bit off on his timing.

“He did a good job early on, but this is a 12 round fight,” elaborated Martinez. “I knew that around the sixth or seventh round, my work rate would increase and after the eighth or ninth, I would increase it even more. It’s good to have a good first or second round, but what’s important here is to know how to finish, not just how to start.”


“Dazzling” Darren, who did not attend the conference, enjoyed his best round in the fourth, when he connected with a thudding right hand that had blood gushing out of Martinez’s nose.

“It was a good right hand around the 4th round that may have broken my nose,” acknowledged the champion. “I was not hurt, but it was uncomfortable because I was bleeding.”

Martinez denied overlooking Barker due to talks of super fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao, insisting that he was fully aware of the danger his opponent posed going into the bout.

“No, no, I knew that Barker was difficult,” assured Maravilla. “However, one must recognize that there is a difference between motivating yourself for a Kelly Pavlik and motivating yourself for a Darren Barker; it’s just not the same. I say that without taking anything away from Darren Barker, who demonstrated that he’s a great champion tonight.”

Lou DiBella, Martinez’s outspoken promoter, agreed and praised the 29-year-old Barker for his courageous effort. “Darren Barker deserves a round of applause because I haven’t seen a fighter that disrespected [by the media] in a long time. I thought he fought a tremendous first half of the fight. I think everyone now knows who Darren Barker is and that he’s one of the best middleweights in the world.”

As is his custom, the linear middleweight champ increased his work rate and adjusted his strategy in the middle rounds to finally penetrate Barker’s defense with his right jab, setting up the final blow, a powerful left hand to the ear.

“The champ broke his nose early; he had to overcome some adversity, but then when he picked up Barker’s rhythm I think it was inevitable that the knockout was going to happen,” observed DiBella.

“There are places on the body where if you hit a person correctly, the fight is over,” explained Martinez. “It was probably a shot to the temple that knocked him out – he didn’t see the punch coming.”

When informed that the judges had the bout 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 for Martinez at the time of the stoppage, the champion believed that he was only slightly ahead. “I always try to be realistic – I think that I was ahead by about two points. I was not winning by a lot; it was an even fight.”

WEIGHTY ISSUES

As for where the often avoided Martinez goes from here, DiBella, Martinez and his advisor, Sampson Lewkowicz, are weighing several options. One thing is for sure: time is of the essence for the 36-year-old Argentine to make his mark in the sport.

“We’re going to look for the biggest name and the biggest possible promotion,” agreed DiBella. “We would love to get the Cotto-Margarito winner, but I don’t think that Bob Arum has any intention of knocking one of his guys off because Sergio would beat the sh*t out of anybody that Bob Arum has fighting for him. Sergio will fight anybody; he’s proven that time and time again.”

Martinez would like nothing more than to face the winner between the December 3rd rematch between the Puerto Rican and Mexican stars. However, he does not like his chances of landing a bout against Cotto should he be the victor that night.

“As always, Cotto makes one excuse after another to avoid facing me. His last excuse was about money. If that’s the problem, then I don’t have a problem giving him my entire purse if he wins.”

Maravilla believes that he has a much better shot at landing a rematch against the only man to clearly defeat and knock him out, the ‘Tijuana Tornado,’ Antonio Margarito.

“Margarito has no issues accepting a fight against me,” assures Martinez. “If Margarito fights well against Cotto and wins, I think a lot of people would like to see a rematch between us.”

If neither fighter accepts the challenge, DiBella has a short list of boxers in mind to feature against Martinez in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“I think Andy Lee is on a list. I think that Matthew Macklin, after his performance against Sturm, is on a list, and I think there are a number of guys that are possibilities,” stated DiBella. “We’re going to look for the fight that makes the most sense. Sergio wants to get in there in February or March. So St. Patty’s Day may be a good time to fight some Irishman, and obviously, Macklin and Lee qualify.”

One thing that is certain is that Team Maravilla does not plan on fighting any higher than at middleweight for the foreseeable future.

“I would not allow him to fight at 168lbs ever, so whoever comes with a proposal for 168 or 170, he will not fight at super middleweight,” stated Lewkowicz. “He’s small for 168. In the press conference two days before the fight, he had cheesecake and a steak and then a breakfast the next morning and still weighed only 158lbs.”

At 5’10”, Martinez seems small even for a middleweight. In fact, Maravilla weighed below 160lbs in all of his middleweight bouts to date, and began his career as a welterweight. Unable to lure Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Felix Sturm, the respective WBC and WBA middleweight champions, into the ring, there are few truly lucrative options left for Martinez at middleweight.

With names such as Cotto, Margarito, Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland, as well as Floyd Mayweather just a division below, it would seem as though junior middleweight is where Martinez may find his most attractive and lucrative options before he calls it a career.