Sergio Gabriel Martinez
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Name: Sergio Martinez
Alias: Maravilla
Birth Name: Sergio Gabriel Martinez
Hometown: Spain
Birthplace: Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 178cm
Reach: 185cm
Promoter: Record
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record
Trainers: Gabriel Sarmiento, Pablo Daniel Sarmiento
Managers: Ricardo Sanchez Atocha, Himself
Promoter: Lou DiBella
Amateur Career
- Began boxing at the age of 20.
- Compiled an amateur record of 39-2.
- Won the Argentine National Amateur Welterweight Championship in 1997.
- Competed as a light middleweight at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Results:
- Defeated Jani Rauhala (Finland) RSCI 3
- Lost to Adrian Diaconu (Romania) PTS (11-9)
Championship Record
- Has a record of 4-1 (1 KO) in world title fights.
- Has a record of 5-3-1 (3 KO) against former, current and future world titlists.
- Won against Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Serhiy Dzinziruk, Darren Barker, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
- Lost against Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto.
- Drew with Kermit Cintron.
World Titles
- WBC super welterweight title (2009-2010)
- WBO middleweight title (2010)
- WBO middleweight super title (2010)
- WBC middleweight title (2010-2011, 2012-2014)
- The Ring Magazine middleweight title (2010-2014)
Regional & Minor Titles
- WBO Latino welterweight title (2000)
- FAB (Federación Argentina de Boxeo) welterweight title (2001)
- IBO junior middleweight title (2003-2004)
- WBC Latino super welterweight title (2005-2006)
- WBC interim super welterweight title (2008-2009)
- WBC Diamond middleweight title (2011-2012)
Awards
- Martinez's second-round knockout of Paul Williams was named The Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year for 2010.
- The Ring Magazine, Boxing Writers Association of America and ESPN named Martinez Fighter of the Year for 2010.
Notes
- Nicknamed "Maravilla," which means "Wonder" in English.
- Martinez was a soccer player and a cyclist before he took up boxing. His dream of becoming a professional cyclist ended when, at age 15, his bike was stolen by two men at gunpoint.
- Martinez was upgraded from WBC interim super welterweight champion to full champion in May 2009.
- In May 2011, one month after winning the WBC and WBO middleweight titles, Martinez was upgraded to super champion by the WBO. Later in the month, he was stripped of the WBO title because he had not yet relinquished the WBC super welterweight title. The WBO ruled: "No WBO champion may hold a non-WBO championship in a weight class that is different from the weight class of his WBO championship." Sampson Lewkowicz, Martinez's adviser, said his client's decision about which title to keep would depend on his next opponent and HBO. The following month, Martinez decided to keep the WBC middleweight title and relinquish the super welterweight title.
- Martinez relinquished the WBC middleweight title rather than face mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik because HBO did not approve Zbik as an opponent. Instead, Martinez fought undefeated WBO super welterweight champion Serhiy Dzinziruk for the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title in March 2011. Martinez and his handlers became very angry when HBO later approved Zbik as an opponent for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who fought Zbik for the WBC middleweight title in June 2011.
- Shortly before he fought Dzinziruk, Martinez's trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento, was arrested and extradited to Spain to finish serving a sentence for aggravated battery. Sarmiento had been convicted in 2003 and sentenced to eight years in prison, but he was released in two years due to a mistake of forms. Upon his release, he moved to the United States and changed his name to Juan Diaz Leon. His brother, Pablo Daniel Sarmiento, took over as Martinez's trainer.
- Late in his career, Martinez had two surgeries to repair ligament damage in his right knee.
| Preceded by: Vernon Forrest Stripped |
WBC Light Middleweight Champion 2009 May 21 – 2010 Jun Vacated |
Succeeded by: Manny Pacquiao |
| Preceded by: Kelly Pavlik |
WBC Middleweight Champion 2010 Apr 17 – 2011 Jan Stripped |
Succeeded by: Sebastian Zbik |
| Preceded by: Kelly Pavlik |
WBO Middleweight Champion 2010 Apr 17 – 2010 Jun Stripped |
Succeeded by: Dmitry Pirog |
| Preceded by: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. |
WBC Middleweight Champion 2012 Sep 15 – 2014 Jun 7 |
Succeeded by: Miguel Cotto |