Former WBC middleweight champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez returned to the ring for the first time in six years on Friday night in Torrelavega, Spain. Martinez (52-2-2, 29 KOs) scored a seventh round TKO over Jose Miguel Fandino (15-7, 8 KOs). 45-year-old Sergio pressed the action and dropped Fandino in round six with a barrage of punches. Martinez continued to batter Fandino for the rest of the round. In round seven, Martinez floored Fandino with a body shot to end it.
In his previous fight against Miguel Cotto back in 2014, Martinez, suffered a bad knee injury, but he said after all this time off he feels really good.
WBO #8 junior middleweight Sergio “El Niño” Garcia (32-0, 13 KOs) took a well-received ten round unanimous decision over rugged Pablo Mendoza (9-5, 9 KOs). Scores were 98-92, 98-93, 99-92.
Former world champion and current WBC #15 super bantamweight Kiko Martinez (40-9-2, 28 KOs) was victorious when journeyman Noe Martinez Raygoza (23-10-2, 10 KOs) didn’t come out for round three.
Unbeaten super featherweight Bernard Angelo Torres (12-0, 5 KOs) outpointed journeyman Alexander Cazares (16-11, 7 KOs) over eight rounds. No scores announced.
Oh brother, here we go! Everybody retired including their mother is coming back to box! Is this a side effect of the COVID-19? If so, should we report to the CDC?
Who cares..? Let Them do whatever they want to do. They don’t live for you. Their lives their choices.
True….However, everyone can voice an opinion.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Martinez end up fighting DLH.
Say what ever. But.. At least Sergio fought, instead of just talking about it..
RWB….True story, he backed it up as well. And remember guys, Martinez didnt start boxing til he was much older so he is not shop worn like most, including De La Hoya. If he can stay healthy, he has another shot at a title.
Well, glad to hear Sergio fought some rounds and his knee didn’t fail. Maidana is coming back too and I don’t mind him vs.DLH. Don’t be surprised to hear about Cotto and Trinidad.
Seniors time I guess
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!! This is getting out of control!!! For old fighters coming back into the fold: PLEASE FIND SOME HOBBIES INSTEAD!!!
What’s the problem exactly? Boxing IS their hobby. Let Them do what they want. You’re Just repeating what others dat.
No problem. Anything wrong in stating an opinion much like you did?
Look back in boxing history and note that 95% of all the former champs died with holes in their pockets . This is a tragic fact and sadly the curse extends to today’s gladiators. Hagler and Marciano avoided the curse but Louis, LaMotta and Robinson fell to empty wallets. The list is endless. The vast majority of championship fighters climbed out of extreme poverty and at the top of their careers were rich men. Now they became champs at tossing their winnings to the winds. Women, so called good buddies and crooked financial advisors took it all. Now broke they refuse to enter the ranks of the real working men toiling in the trenches. They return to what they know best but “Father Time” is now their opponent. There is no doubt of the outcome.
Don’t be surprised if De La Hoya’s come back fight is against Sergio Martinez . Oscar will be 48 by then and Martinez 46 by then.
I wonder what the motivation is for a guy wanting to come back in his 40’s? I think it’s more than financial or believing they can still compete at the championship level, because surely they can not. I think it has more to do with them returning to do what they love and made them who they are and proving to themselves and the world that they still got it. Then again, there are the tragic cases of guys fighting well beyond their primes purely for the money.
Kris, ur right. Its not about the financial aspect. Its about the love, the passion, that feeling u get when ur right in front of someone ready and willing to put a hurt on u. The challenge of out thinking the other guy to get ur shots off. I too often think about getting back in, but in my early 40’s and pretty shop worn, i know better. But dont get me wrong, i do sparr with my fighters and put some rounds in from time to time. That humbles me really quick lol
Risk of injury climbs much higher at an advancing age even in one’s 40’s. Healing times are even slowed down as well.
Tony- I think anybody who has ever boxed always thinks about getting in the ring again. It sounds like you competed at a pretty high level. I boxed as a young kid, quit, and got back into it and had a few more amateur fights in my early 30’s. I am now 50 and would love to compete in the Masters Division tournaments. Bad idea I know, but at least I know I’d be fighting other old dudes that shouldn’t be fighting either! Haha. I still have sparred occasionally over the years and look and feel great against novices, but I’ve gotten my ass handed to me whenever I’ve sparred guys who are actually training to compete. One thing boxing is not, is foregiving!
kris… very true.
Yea, WE boxers will always have that fight mentality. But unfortunately, thats what it is now, Just the mentality. Im glad u still get in there on occasion and sparr though. A body in motion stays in motion. Stay at it brother…
The limelight is a hard thing to lose. It often clouds a sense of reality. Like Tom Brady. Should of quit at the top of his game. Like Marciano, Calzaghe, good grief so few. I loved bodybuilding when I was younger. Now? The mind is willing but the flesh is weak. My strength levels are way down, joints hurt and take forever to recover. Growing old is humbling, and not for sissies. Gradual downward trend to falling apart and then the grim reaper. DEATH. If you don’t find other ways to make your life fulfilling its a ghastly fall from grace. Hand picking inmates in prison and turing their lives around is what gets my engine running again. In the end what you have done for others is all that is going to matter. Or how you made the world a better place. Conservation, saving a species. So many people in reality don’t give a fck about anything.