Four Bone-Crunching Knockouts from Sergio Martinez

by Kieran Mulvaney

Since defeating Kelly Pavlik via blood-soaked unanimous decision in April 2010, Sergio Martinez has made four defenses of his middleweight crown. None of them has gone the distance, but each of them has unfolded and ended in a new way. Here’s a rundown of the Argentine’s recent roll of knockout honor:

Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams - Photo Credit: Will HartPaul Williams: November 20, 2010

Martinez knocked Williams down in the opening round of their first encounter, eleven months earlier. Had the knockdown not come at the very end of that frame, it might have opened up Williams to a potentially decisive follow-up flurry. As it was, the American survived and eked out a close and controversial points win.

Second time around, Martinez left no doubt. After a fast-paced first round that appeared to presage another compelling contest, Martinez landed a crunching left hand in round two that dropped Williams to the canvas face-first. It was a decisive knockout of the normally iron-chinned ‘Punisher’ and vaulted Martinez high up pound-for-pound lists.

Sergio Martinez, Sergiy Dzinziruk - Photo Credit: Will Hart Sergiy Dzinziruk: March 12, 2011

Dzinziruk had never been beaten, or even dropped, as a professional prior to challenging Martinez. The champion ended both those records emphatically. The first two knockdowns, one each in rounds 4 and 5, were relatively flash affairs, the Ukrainian rising to re-engage in battle on both occasions, but in round 8, Martinez dropped his opponent three times in rapid succession, a sequence that was initiated by a left hand to the temple not dissimilar to the one that flattened Williams. A final flurry, punctuated by a right hand, sent the challenger into the ropes and onto the seat of his pants, prompting the referee to call a halt to the contest.

Darren Barker, Sergio Martinez - Photo Credit: Will HartDarren Barker: October 1, 2011

For the first two-thirds or so of the scheduled 12 rounds, Barker frustrated Martinez with a tight defense without offering much in the way of offense. Finally, perhaps cognizant that he was far behind on the scorecards, the challenger began to open up. Big mistake: The new strategy allowed him to land some shots but left him open for the Argentine’s fast hands.

A right hook in the tenth wobbled Barker and sent him staggering sideways; although he survived that round, the Englishman couldn’t make it through the following one. Another right hook, this one landing behind the ear, dropped him to his hands and knees and rendered him unable to beat the count. For Barker, as for Dzinziruk, it was his first defeat.

Matthew Macklin, Sergio Martinez - Photo Credit: Will Hart Matthew Macklin: March 17, 2012

Unlike Barker, Anglo-Irishman Macklin came to brawl, and for the first half of this contest gave as good as he got. After a seventh-round knockdown (which Martinez claimed was really a push), the challenger was actually ahead on the scorecards. But that seemed to serve only to kick the champion into high gear.

Over the next three rounds, Martinez began to land with greater ease and authority, and in the eleventh, a straight left hand sent Macklin down and into the ropes. Clearly hurt, Macklin rose for more, but as the bell rang to end the round, another Martinez left dropped his foe hard. Macklin made it back to his corner, but his team had seen enough and elected to save him from further punishment.

Martinez Defends Title in Front of Sell-Out Crowd

By Steve Marzolf

Photo Credit: Will Hart

A sold-out crowd of St. Patrick’s Day revelers packed the Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, and though the Irishman of the night didn’t walk out lucky, 4,671 green-clad boxing fans got what they came for: non-stop action ending in an impressive knockout.

Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) successfully defended his World Middleweight Championship title against the Irish (by way of Birmingham, U.K.) challenger Matthew Macklin (28-4, 19 KO’s), ending the night with a TKO in the eleventh round.

Read More at HBO.com

Fans Weigh In: Sergio in a Rout

Sergio Martinez - Photo Credit: Ed Ed Mulholland

For as long as we've been asking you to vote for fight predictions, we've never had such a one-sided result. Sergio Martinez pulled in 1310 out of 1419 votes in our Facebook poll, or roughly 12 times as many as Matthew Macklin received. That isn't to say you think Martinez is in for a walk in the park.  "I think Sergio will win but he will have to keep his hands up and fight a smart fight and be prepared for a tough/rugged tussle from Macklin. In New York, Macklin will be the favorite with all the Irishmen and Englishmen," S. Tyrone wrote on Facebook. On HBO.com V.Varricchio weighed in with a more specific prediction, "Should be back and forth action. See the fight being even throughout the first half. At the turn of the second Martinez will go into overdrive as Macklin slowly runs out of gas. Somewhere Martinez will go down most due to being off balance as seen in his previous fights. At the end of it all, Martinez by Decision."

Here's more of what you had to say:

• Sergio will put a whoopin on this clown. Too smart, too fast, too athletic. The closest boxer we have to Roy Jones, Jr today - Matthew D. (Facebook)
• Sergio martinez by 8-12 tko of macklin. It will be a good fight though. - @ArmandoRodrig87 (Twitter)
• Martinez wins by decision. Macklin isn't a cake walk PLUS it'll be st. Patrick's day. Tough fight for Sergio. #MartinezMacklin - @emmanem88 (Twitter)
• Macklin's style is a bit tailor made for Sergio, and we know Maravilla got the KO power, so this fight might not go the distance. Mathew's a resilient fighter though, and his work output may just make a fight out of this. And if he can stand Martinez' power, Sergio's in trouble...I still favor Maravilla to pull off a KO with that left bomb of his. – e.corales (HBO.com)
• around the seventh i reckon when matthew runs outta gas, - Richard F. (Facebook)

Do you agree with the fans above, or is Macklin an underdog who’s about to have his day? Sound off in the comments.

Sergio Martinez: Not Just Defying Conventions, Battering Them

By Kieran Mulvaney

Sergio Martinez - Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland

Exhibit A: Sergio Martinez

Exhibit B: The image of a classic boxer. Hands held high, one slightly forward of the other, chin tucked.

Sergio Martinez, middleweight champion, does not fit the classic boxer mold. His stance is unconventional, his movements around the ring are unorthodox, and the road that brought him to the professional prizefighting ring in the first place is short on precedent. But in many ways it is precisely the combination of these outside-the-box elements that make the man from Argentina such a formidable foe.

He frequently keeps his hands low while alternately bouncing around hyperactively on his toes and standing flat-footed, staring at his opponent and bending slightly forward at the waist like a baseball pitcher on the mound, peering for an opening and simultaneously seeming to present a target of his own. The net effect of that is that sometimes he leaves himself briefly vulnerable and off-balance, allowing, for example, Paul Williams and Kelly Pavlik to score flash knockdowns that embarrassed more than they hurt.

At the same time, his stance frequently lures his foe into making an assault, at which point Martinez counters with rapid-fire punches from sometimes unpredictable angles which catch that foe unawares and, because of the torque with which the Argentinian unleashes them, frequently rob him of his senses.

So powerfully did he hit Kermit Cintron, for example, that the American staggered backward to the ropes and slumped to the canvas, protesting that the blow had to have been a headbutt; no way, he insisted, could a punch have been so hurtful and powerful.  After Williams had knocked an off-balance Martinez to the canvas in the first round of their first encounter, Martinez responded with a much harder blow that floored Williams with greater authority. When they met again, Martinez drew his opponent into the perfect range for a crunching, unseen left hand that relieved Williams of consciousness before he hit the canvas.

"Martinez drew his opponent into the perfect range for a crunching, unseen left hand that relieved Williams of consciousness before he hit the canvas."

When he doesn’t dispense of his foes early, as he did in the Williams rematch, Martinez is able to wear them down, landing with ever greater effectiveness as the fight progresses. Witness, for example, the increasingly emphatic knockdowns he inflicted on Sergiy Dzinziruk en route to an eighth-round stoppage last March, or the way in which he overcame stubborn resistance from Darren Barker before scoring an 11th round KO in October. That he is able to do so says much of his level of physical fitness, a trait that has its roots in cycling and soccer, both of which he pursued long before he set foot in a boxing ring for the first time at age 20.

Matthew Macklin will need to find a way to diminish that unconventional effectiveness if he is to take the middleweight crown on Saturday.

CompuBox Analysis: Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin

By CompuBox

It's funny how life works out. Had Matthew Macklin been awarded the decision many say he deserved against WBA middleweight titlist Felix Sturm last June, he might not have gotten Saturday's fight against Sergio Martinez, regarded by most as a top three pound-for-pound entrant and the rightful WBC middleweight champion. That's because unification bouts are so difficult to arrange politically and logistically. One could say that for Macklin, a short-term setback has yielded a career-defining opportunity that could reap untold fortune should he seize it.

Will the gritty Brit score the major upset or will Martinez take another step toward Canastota?  The oddsmaker’s overwhelmingly favor Martinez, who’s a 10-1 favorite.  Their CompuBox pasts provide these informational nuggets:

> Read more CompuBox analysis of Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin on HBO.com