By Nick Bellafatto
Virtually all night long, with the exception of the final moments of the fight, pound-for-pound Argentinian sensation Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO’s) was just that, sensational. This en-route to winning a one-sided unanimous decision by scores of 118-109 twice, and 117-110 over what amounted to a cruiserweight in the much larger and far less talented Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s), a young man who would taste defeat for the first time in his professional career.
As a result, the universally recognized middleweight champion Martinez has come full circle to reclaim that which had once belonged to him, the very same 160 pound WBC title belt that he’d rightfully earned by way of dismantling former champion Kelly Pavlik in 2010. Never losing his title in the ring, Sergio would at the time have that distinction stripped from him by Julio’ Godfather and WBC President Jose Sulaiman in an effort to position his Godson to lay claim to the hardware in question.
With Julio not being able to prove the naysayer’s wrong in that he was deserving of his place as the WBC middleweight champion, a highly motivated “Maravilla” Martinez would utterly dominate Chavez Jr. both inside and out, this despite some twelfth round heroics by the now displaced former titlist. In a last desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable, the “Son of a Legend,” “JC Jr.,” would get his opponent in a bit of trouble in the final round via a looping right hand that would wobble Sergio, to then follow up with a few left hooks that deposited the Argentine on the canvass.
However, with his eyes clear, it was in that same twelfth round that Martinez would rise to his feet and rather than hold on, he would continue to trade with Julio. Not only would Sergio weather Chavez Jr.’s blows in that frame to emerge victorious, but “Maravilla” would for the entire bout shake off that which was offered up by is larger Mexican foe, who in rarely landing a blow of significance, would find himself unable to deal with the speed and movement of Martinez, getting outclassed and no less stymied at every turn.
Not only would Julio consistently fail to get his punches off whether to the head or the all important body, a tactic which may have slowed down his elusive and slickly talented counterpart, but from the opening bell Sergio would control the action to the exclusion of the Mexican prizefighter. Sticking and moving his way around the ring with his hands down, the Oxnard, California resident would pot shot Chavez Jr. to no end, landing at will with a snaking jab and a straight left hand to both body and head, to drop in occasional hooks and uppercuts for good measure.
First tentative, young Julio would then become stifled, as Martinez would dominate at range, to then beat the Mexican to the punch on the inside, perhaps making “JC Jr.” out to be a reluctant fighter who in the end would put up a less than determined effort until it was far too late. Even when Chavez Jr. put a few punches together where it appeared he would rally a bit, Sergio would retaliate to one up his opponent, turning back Julio with solid shots to resume control.
Overall, even though it was surmised that Chavez Jr. would have been more effective had he pressed early on to throw caution to the wind, that’s hard to fathom. Not only was Martinez on a mission to rightfully re-ascend the throne upon which he previously sat, but Sergio even at age 37 wasn’t going to be denied against a fighter who in his eyes was simply inferior.
In the end, Sergio Gabriel Martinez’s speed, athleticism, determination, and overall ability combined would simply prove to be too much for young Chavez Jr. In addition, “Maravilla” was for the most part able to take the Mexican fighter’s best shots without flinching, that is up until the very end when perhaps fatigue combined with a few well placed, and quite possibly unseen blows, would drop the Argentinian.
Solid performance by one of boxing’s elite who will no doubt be looking for some bigger paydays considering he would receive less than half that of what his opponent was to receive for the same evening’s work. And with various champions in attendance scouting out the action, to include super middleweight phenom Andre S.O.G. Ward and 160 pound champion Daniel Geale of Australia, with no doubt hard hitting WBA middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin watching from one vantage point or another, that big payday could be just around the corner.
However, these potential opponents may have to wait not only considering that the Martinez Camp is open for a rematch with Chavez Jr., but reportedly Sergio had tore some ligaments and suffered a broken hand while busting up his rival at Thomas and Mack Center last night, further evidence that Sergio simply refused to lose, and a circumstance which will require surgery and some time off.
Undercard attractions
Defending WBA junior featherweight champion and two-time Cuban Olympic Gold Medalist Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) would turn in a near shut out on the scorecards, 118-108 twice, and 118-109 over young challenger Roberto Marroquin (22-2, 15 KO’s) in what turned out to be another conservative effort on the part of Rigondeaux, this despite appearing to be on a bit of a tear lately with three consecutive knockouts coming in.
Throughout Guillermo would land the solid shots and more of them, timing his opponent with precision to drop Marroquin for the first, and then the second time in his career in rounds five and twelve. Although a one-sided affair, Marroquin had some moments of his own, wobbling Rigondeaux on more than one occasion with left hooks which perhaps exposed the defending champion somewhat, only to see Roberto fail to follow up.
Not only did the Texan fail to capitalize in these instances, but he was much more conservative than his sporadic throwing opponent, something hard to believe if you weren’t a witness to it. No doubt totally wary of the pin point counter punches coming his way, Marroquin in addition just couldn’t adjust to the hand speed of his quicker fisted opponent so that Roberto was tentative to a fault. And after delivering mostly single shots at a time during the course of action, the Cuban finally let loose in the twelfth and final round to batter and bloody his adversary.
In an endeavor in which Rigondeaux may have been the dominant fighter, he perhaps didn’t make for a solid case to contest with WBO/IBF junior featherweight title holder and current pound-for-pound talent Nonito Donaire. Donaire is simply reluctant to match up with the Cuban feeling that he wouldn’t be worth the effort from an entertainment standpoint because he has a boring style that’s not fan friendly.
Be that as it may, if Nonito wants to clean out the division as he’s alluded to, then Rigondeaux who’s fervently trying to get at him stands in his way, a fighter against whom if Donaire presses would perhaps respond in kind and rise to the challenge. But with both fighters under contract with Top Rank, perhaps Bob Arum feels the same way as the Filipino, so that from Arum’s perspective it’s not to the point where it would be a lucrative enough venture to put on. Perhaps in due time, as fight fans are definitely interested in seeing how this potential contest would play out.
Former WBA 154 pound world champion Joachim Alcine (33-3-1, 19 KO’s) wouldn’t make it out of the first round, going down once from a hard looping right hand delivered by Matthew “Mack The Knife” Macklin (29-4, 20 KO’s) from which Alcine never really recovered from. Seconds later Joachim would find himself on the canvass yet again the result of a nudge combined with bad balance which was somehow missed by referee Jay Nady who called it a knockdown.
Alcine would subsequently rise to his feet whereupon he was met by his Irish counterpart who would jump on his non responsive opponent. At this juncture Matthew would land a good body shot amongst a barrage of other blows that seemed to miss the mark. But with Joachim in the eyes of Jay Nady failing to respond adequately, Nady would perhaps prematurely stop the bout, prompting no complaints from Alcine. The time was 2:36
In a contest for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title, former champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (26-1-1, 16 KO’s) of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico would win a close decision over Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico resident Miguel Beltran Jr. (27-2, 17 KO’s) by scores of 116-111 for Beltran Jr., and 114-113 twice for Martinez in a heated toe-to-toe slugfest which saw the Puerto Rican-Mexican rivalry revisited .
Not in agreement with the scores myself where it appeared that Roman Martinez should have received more of a clear cut victory in that he would out-land his opponent in the majority of rounds, nevertheless the right man won despite perhaps edging the Mexican by virtue of Beltran Jr. being deducted a point for a foul late in the fight.
Essentially Miguel would throw round house shots while “Rocky” Martinez would land the straighter more technically sound looking punches, investing in the body to slow the Mexican fighter down towards the latter rounds.
And with Beltran Jr. having some moments of his own to land the visibly more appealing shots in a few of the early rounds where he would rock Martinez’s head back, the Puerto Rican would respond each and every time out to in the end keep things in perspective to edge out his game opponent.
