There's A Superb New Football Documentary On Netflix, And You Should Watch It, The Buildup Rugby - Stephen Ferris: Ireland Lack Physicality Needed, Eddie Hearn Sums Up What Katie Taylor Means To Women's Boxing, Katie Taylor Put On A Show In Incredibly Dominant Gutierrez Win, Katie Taylor Hoping For 'Irish Double' At Wembley This Week, Tadhg Leader Is Trying To Make It As An NFL Kicker, Nigel Owens Explains How Richie McCaw 'Got Away With Things' On The Pitch, Watch: Celtic Fans Gather Outside Parkhead To Demand Lennon Sacking, Ireland Fringe Players Fail To Make Opportunity Count In Dull Georgia Affair. [15] He defended the IBO title twice in the United Kingdom; a twelfth round knock-out victory of Adrian Stone in Bristol was followed by a rematch against Williams in Belfast, on this occasion Williams was stopped in the ninth round. ". However, this was disputed by Cintron, who claimed that the knockdown was a result of a headbutt but actually the headbutt which Cintron claimed to have happened was actually an extremely powerful and accurate cross from Sergio Martínez. According to reports, Sarmiento told Martínez "Champion, your knees are not responding. Maravilla is a real-life sports epic bunched into 80 exciting minutes, not a single one wasted. Here, viewers not familiar with Martinez might be fooled into thinking they're watching a fictional tale unfold, such is the suspenseful nature of a fight years in the making. After an impressive performance against Paul Williams, Sergio Martínez stayed at middleweight and challenged WBC, WBO, The Ring and lineal middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. It's a phenomenal insight into the murky world of boxing ABCs and promotion, and one which - as mentioned above - instantly educates the more casual observer of the sport. With six successful defenses of the Ring and lineal middleweight titles, Martínez's 50-month reign as champion ranks as one of the longest in the history … [11] Although he considered competing for Argentina at the 2000 Olympics, he decided that he was too old to wait the two and a half years and chose to turn professional in December 1997. Martínez was able to turn the tide in the later rounds, finding his range with his left hand. Sobre el segundo asalto, Maravilla Martínez lanzó un potente cruzado de derecha con el que durmió a su rival y puso punto final al pleito. [19] The victory over Pavlik earned Martínez the WBC, WBO, Ring and lineal middleweight championships. With Martínez winning the middleweight championship, he was required to make some decisions regarding his conflicting WBC light middleweight title. Martinez-Macklin features in the documentary, as does both fighters' shared promoter Lou DiBella, whose fury at the corruption and lies used by the World Boxing Council to strip Martinez of his crown and install Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as champion in his stead produces some wonderful behind-the-scenes fireworks. This prohibition includes holding a title with one sanctioning organization while also holding a title in a different weight class with a different organization. [31], Martinez has been presented with an award for helping bullied children. The fight was featured on BBC's boxing schedule for 2011: Was violently bitten by a pelican at Fota Wildlife Park in 2001. The fight took place in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on 17 April 2010. We follow Martinez' family, who 17 years prior pleaded with their boy not to fight, and invite the whole neighbourhood - and local radio broadcast - to their home to witness the culmination of his greatest fight of all. [20] A week later, Martínez did inform the WBC that he was willing to vacate their Light Middleweight title and maintain his WBC Middleweight belt. 1994's critically-acclaimed Hoop Dreams - the journey of two African-American basketball prodigies who are recruited by a predominantly white high school and basketball super-power. Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. He also managed to get Martínez's nose to bleed early in the rounds by an upper-cut. Eight weeks after the Pavlik fight, when Martínez failed to announce a preference to be a light middleweight or a middleweight champion (the WBO rules allow ten days to decide), the WBO stripped him of their middleweight title. Macklin unexpectedly threw vigorous hooks and jabs that left Martínez behind on the scorecards and left Martínez in a sense of urgency. Both fighters were ranked among the top six pound-for-pound fighters, and Williams came into the fight as the Ring No. "18: Madison Square Garden, New York City, Sergio Martinez beat Matthew Macklin by 11th-round KO (The Ring middleweight). [2] In 2011, Martínez reached a career high ranking as the world's third best active boxer, pound for pound, behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, as voted by most sporting news and boxing publications, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Yahoo! That would turn out to be the case as Williams would escape with a majority decision victory with scores of 114–114, 119–110 (for Williams) and 115–113 (for Williams). [21], On 20 November 2010, Sergio got a chance to avenge his loss to Williams. That was f***ing unbelievable. ', this 80 minutes will equip you with a fairly concrete understanding of the sport's irreparably shady political system, while providing you with one of its most compelling tales from recent years. On 5 December 2009 Martínez fought Paul Williams in a non-title middleweight bout at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall in a fight that was later described as a fight of the year candidate. Pavlik had cuts above both eyes for several rounds, which did not stop bleeding. Sergio Gabriel Martínez (born 21 February 1975) is an Argentine professional boxer. Dzindziruk, the WBO light middlweight champion, was knocked down five times in the fight. Though Chávez had his moments trapping Martínez in the corner on the ropes, Martínez fought Chávez and used his fast lateral movement to avoid and neutralize Chávez' offensive attack. Former handwriting champion. Martinez was also awarded the WBC Diamond belt. The first few rounds showed that Barker was actually able to make Martínez uncomfortable in the ring and give him more trouble than expected. Maravilla provides a superb behind-the-scenes insight into the extraordinary story of recent boxing middleweight kingpin Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez - one of the sport's great talents and gentlemen - and the boxing bollocksology which threatened to derail his stint as one of the planet's finest fighters. [13] On 14 February 2009 Martínez fought to a majority draw against Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron. However, on 13 June 2015, Martínez announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 40, stating that both aging and knee injuries were the causes for his decision. Recent addition of the compelling Les Bleus aside, it's rare we're treated to new sports documentaries, and so we tend to go further afield - and usually deeper into the online Aether - for our fix. I'm gonna stop this one. Martínez would then seem to control the next two rounds with effective power punching. Sure that's ridiculous! How the hell have I never heard of this guy? 1-4 CCW: Grapple Masters FEN 31: Lotos Fight Night Superior Challenge 21: Adam Westlund vs Tobias Harila BKB Lockdown: Sean George vs Smudger Smith Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. In 2010 he was granted the Konex Award Merit Diploma as one of the five best boxers of the last decade in Argentina. By the end, you're throwing punches with him, as he attempts to quell the dark forces which seemed so intent on ruining one of boxing's great modern tales. After a series of setbacks including further surgeries on his knees, Martínez fought again over a year after the Murray fight, losing his WBC, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles to three-division former world champion Miguel Cotto on 7 June 2014, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Because of the injury and his inability to fight Sergio Martínez, Martínez's interim title was upgraded to full WBC title status. He has also championed the cause of domestic violence against women. Many boxing analysts and experts said that Darren Barker has the skills and ring generalship to one day become a champion, but that his skills were not perfected enough to do anything against Martínez. [30], Martinez still resides in Madrid, Spain. After his surgery, Martínez confirmed his next title defense would take place in his native Argentina,[27] in what would be his first fight in his home country since leaving for Spain in 2002. He continued to fight back until round nine when Martínez went down once again. Like many of it's ilk, this is a film probably better suited to non-boxing fans, or casual observers not overly familiar with Martinez or his achievements. Martínez fought the first 17 fights of his career in his native Argentina, compiling a record of 16–0–1. Then Williams seemed to narrowly take control of the fight when he seemingly won rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7 by landing hard left hands to the side of Martínez's head. The day Jorge "El Travieso" Arce was kidnapped. Many observers stated that there had been a clear deterioration in Martínez since the Chávez Jr. bout. Retained WBC interim super welterweight title, Retained WBC Latino super welterweight title, Club Argentino de Quilmes, Quilmes, Argentina, List of light-middleweight boxing champions, "Sergio Martínez - Premio Konex: Diploma al Mérito 2010", "Rankings: Heavyweight isn't deadweight – Boxing – Yahoo! The only blemish on his record at this point occurred in his third fight, a draw against Mario Javier Nieva over four rounds. Martínez struggled in the first half of the fight, with Macklin able to time Martínez very well, which neutralized much of Sergio's offensive attack (and would even score a knock-down on Martínez in the seventh round). Martínez out worked and out landed Chávez throughout the first 11 rounds of the fight, in dominating fashion. I was absolutely bricking it at the end. [8], Sergio Martínez was born on 21 February 1975 in Avellaneda to parents Hugo Alberto Martínez and Susana Griselda. Chávez hurt Martinez in the 12th round, sending him to the canvas halfway through the round. From Pacquiao To Foreman: The Boxers Who Fought Father Time And Won; Interview with Maravilla Martínez on his return to boxing after six years: “I did regressive therapy; Rajeeth Singh Sethi is a young professional boxer and actor; Fabio Wardley and Simon Vallily forced to sink or swim in high-stakes heavyweight fight Many speculated that this would be a fight of the year candidate. His boxing career suffered a major setback in August 1996 when he broke his left hand, forcing him out of the sport for a year. The fight went the twelve round distance and the scorecards revealed a draw, many ringside observers felt that the decision was a robbery and that Martínez easily outboxed Cintron and should have gained the victory. After the fight, it was revealed that Martínez had broken his left hand (as early as the 4th round) and torn his right meniscus, the latter of which would require surgery. [18] Although there was a rematch clause in the contract, Pavlik chose not to enforce it, stating his desire to move up in weight. Argentina former world champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martínez (52-3-2, 29 KO’s) will return in his second fight since coming out from retirement for another rumble on December 5 in España. The knockout was called by many as the knockout of the year. Maravilla is a real-life sports epic bunched into 80 exciting minutes, not a single one wasted. Sergio Martínez's next fight was against undefeated Sergiy Dzindziruk on 12 March 2011 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, winning by TKO in 8 rounds. [13] Soon thereafter, Martínez began to gain recognition and pursue fights in the United States, under the guidance of adviser Sampson Lewkowicz. There's also the dynamic which explores why Martinez, despite his world-conquering abilities, is 'a nobody' in his homeland of Argentina, propelling the middleweight king homewards to partake in Dancing With The Stars-like competitions and stand-up comedy routines in an attempt to break his own country. He knocked Barker out with an extremely powerful right hook and put Barker to his knees in the 11th round. After being trained by his uncle, Ruben Paniagua, Martínez began boxing as an amateur and compiled a record of 39–2 (39 wins to 2 losses), the losses came by way of majority decision and knockout. Despite being fatigued and clearly hurt, Sergio Martínez managed to survive the thrilling 12th round without holding. After the first round however, he begun to make the fight competitive with Cotto. Martinez was quoted as saying: "With domestic violence, no one wanted to touch the subject with a 10-foot pole. — Sergio Martínez (@maravillabox) March 25, 2017. The Argentine star first picked up a pair of gloves in 1995 - aged 20(!) We've all seen the ever-presents by now; 2014's Iverson - an enthralling reflection on the career of a misunderstood NBA great. Although Martínez recovered and had some success in the early rounds, he was hurt by a number of punches in round seven leading to a stoppage by the referee, thus handing Martínez his first loss. Over the next two and a half years, Martínez won seven fights in a row back in Spain, six of which were against boxers who had losing records. Following the ninth round, trainer Pablo Sarmiento decided to call off the fight prior to the tenth round while still in the corner, against the urging of Martínez. He is the author of a book, Corazón de Rey ("Heart of a King"),[7] and is said to be working on a second book. He said they affected his vision and performance. Martínez won the fight by unanimous decision, by the scores of 117–110, 118–109, and 118–109. [25] As a result, he received a fine of $20,000 and was indefinitely suspended by the World Boxing Council.[26]. Martínez claimed the Interim WBC light middleweight championship on 4 October 2008, beating Alex Bunema via an eighth round retirement. Add to this Martinez' own journey behind closed doors, as the ageing middleweight faces a battle against time to fight the pretender to his throne, Chavez, while his body breaks down despite painful recovery work between fights. Such is the sweet science's niche nature on this side of the pond, Martinez' career and brief but spectacular middleweight dominance might well have slipped your radar. Sports, and The Ring. Martínez, who entered the ring as an underdog, having had only eight days preparation,[12][14] won a unanimous decision. With six successful defenses of the Ring and lineal middleweight titles, Martínez's 50-month reign as champion ranks as one of the longest in the history of that weight class. Martínez rematched Nieva four months later and won a six-round unanimous decision. I was interested in the issue that a boxer, who dishes out violence, could also be thoughtful and do something and people would listen to someone like me. [16], On 21 May 2009, WBC light middleweight champion Vernon Forrest was stripped of his title due to a rib injury that would leave him out of action indefinitely. Finally, he and Chavez throw down for the title which had only changed hands thanks to horrendous boxing politics. Chávez Jr.'s godfather was the head of WBC and refused to allow the fight, even after a unanimous vote to allow the unbeaten champion to fight the current title holder. Besides middleweight belts, his plethora of accolades included Fighter of the Year awards by both The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2010, as well as The Ring's Knockout of the Year for his victory against Paul Williams that same year. Martínez won by unanimous decision after surviving a 12th round knock down following a dominant performance over the first 11 rounds. Martínez fought Julio César Chávez Jr. on 15 September 2012, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada for Chávez Jr's WBC Middleweight title. [4] A southpaw, Martínez was known as a fast and athletic fighter and his style has been described as "crowd-pleasing",[5] partly because of his tendency to fight with his hands down when out of his opponents' range. For instance, if you're the type of sports fan who has ever wondered, 'how are there so many boxing champions per weight division? As such, their rules prohibit a fighter from simultaneously holding belts in multiple divisions. The contest started badly for Martínez as Margarito scored a knockdown in the first round. Although the organization also mandated that Martínez face Forrest, that bout would never happen. News agency Reuters reported that Martínez could make his first title defense against British fighter Martin Murray on 27 April 2013 in Argentina. This fight was notable in that the WBC did not initially want Chávez Jr. to fight Martinez. [13], After facing a relatively low level of opposition for his first 17 fights in Argentina, Martínez fought abroad for the first time, travelling to the United States to face Antonio Margarito on the undercard to the first Érik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera bout. You'll always be the best champion, Sergio. Sergio, you are the best for me. [28] Martínez defeated Ring Top 10 Middleweight Martin Murray by a controversial unanimous decision. "[10], For other people named Sergio Martinez, see, Bolera Severino Prieto, Torrelavega, Spain. Streams & Videos: NJPW Strong: New Japan Showdown ep. Although Williams scored knockdowns in the second and eleventh rounds, he was close to being stopped in the final round and the scorecards were heavily in Martínez's favour. The sanctioning organizations for boxing recognize that boxers may choose to move up or down in the weight categories, yet they also wish to make all championship belts available to challenge. During this run of fights he won the Argentina welterweight title after outpointing Javier Alejandro Blanco. One sports doc which tends to go overlooked by Netflix subscribers in these parts, however, is the criminally underrated Maravilla. This was to change in his next fight however, as he took on Richard Williams in England for the lightly regarded IBO light middleweight title. I am a massive fan of @KatieTaylor Congrats! The sports genre doesn't tend to see as much upheaval as other Netflix categories, in the UK and Ireland at least. He successfully defended the title once, knocking out Sergio Ernesto Acuna in the seventh round, before being stripped of the title.[13]. During his time in Spain, Martínez also worked jobs such as; nightclub bouncer, dishwasher, construction worker and did modelling jobs for Adidas and Nike. [9] Shortly afterwards the family relocated to the nearby city of Quilmes, which is also in the Buenos Aires Province. Martinez prepped for this fight against Chavez Jr. in Oxnard, California training under his career long coach, Gabriel Sarmiento. Martínez, however, fought through the difficulty and eventually found openings which led to a knock-out of Barker, in the 11th with a right hook. [23][24], After the fight, Chávez tested positive for cannabis. I thought I could have the most impact by speaking out on the issue. Boil the kettle there, will ya? It was evident straight away that Martinez's legs were not there, even with knee braces on and clearly visible, Cotto knocked Martínez down three times in the first round. Sergio successfully defended his The Ring title against the No. Martínez got up with a little over one minute left in the fight, and rather than clinch or hold on to Chávez, Martínez continued to throw and trade blows with the Mexican. Martínez defeated Pavlik via unanimous decision in a bout which saw Martínez overcome a knockdown in the seventh round and go on to dominate a majority of the remaining rounds in the fight. - and in the 19 years which followed would become the third best fighter in the world, behind only Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 14, 2012) – Top Rank® and DiBella Entertainment announced today that the September 15JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ JR. vs. SERGIO “MARAVILLA” MARTÍNEZ Méxican Independence Day weekend world middleweight championship event at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, will be available live on both pay-per-view television and online. 2 ranked Middleweight. Ever since their VPN crackdown and the subsequent unavailability of ESPN's 30 for 30 series in Ireland, there's been somewhat of a dearth of decent sports fare on Netflix. Then in the final 2 rounds (11–12), both fighters began to fade although the exchanges remained very closely contested, although Williams was far more active and therefore would seemingly win those final 2 rounds based on the fact that he was far more active in the last 2 rounds of the fight. He attended a news conference to support legislation involving the Violence Against Women Act. The WBC named him their Boxer of the Year in 2010 and 2012. 3:03. Macklin was coming off a very impressive performance against middleweight champion Felix Sturm prior his fight with Martínez, a fight that many felt Macklin won, but he lost a controversial decision to Sturm in Germany. Approximately one minute into the second round, Martínez knocked Williams out with an over-the-top left hand to retain his title. [3] In 2010 he received Fighter of the Year awards by both The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America, as well as The Ring's Knockout of the Year for his rematch victory against Paul Williams. Rounds 8–10 then signified that the fight would be close on the score-cards when Martínez won those rounds by repeating what he did in rounds 2 and 3. The Count: Episode 2 The Count: Episode 3 From April 2002 – May 2003 he fought four times in Spain, all eight-round fights that he won against weak opposition, two of his opponents had lost their last six fights. Martínez then fought undefeated EBU middleweight champion Darren Barker on 1 October at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. ESPN, and The Los Angeles Times all gave round-by-round reports on the fight. In 2012, Martinez fought our own Matthew Macklin in the Theater at New York's Madison Square Garden - a venue graced once more by Mack The Knife just a fortnight ago, as he managed Michael Conlan for his professional debut exactly five years after trading leather with Maravilla. Following the Margarito fight, Martínez returned to Argentina and fought eight times, all victories, from April 2000 – February 2002. Williams stated to Max Kellerman after the fight, "He caught me with a punch I did not see.". "[10] Before boxing, Martínez was a keen cyclist and football player and it was not until 1995 that he decided he would become a boxer. The fight took place on 19 February 2000 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. 1977's Pumping Iron - a docudrama about the world of professional bodybuilding, with a focus on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1975 Mr. Olympia contests. [6], Outside the ring, Martínez has been an active spokesperson in the fight against bullying and domestic violence against women. In the first round Williams and Martínez would both knock each other down once. Cintron's protestations led to the referee overturning his decision and the fight continued. May 28. It was there that he began his partnership with his current trainer Gabriel Sarmiento, who worked out of a gym in Azuqueca de Henares. Less than a month later, Forrest was tragically murdered in Atlanta, GA.[17]. He held the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010, and the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles between 2010 and 2014. His father worked as a construction worker and metal worker, a trade which Sergio Martínez joined along with his two brothers, Sebastian and Hugo Jr. Martínez was bullied as a child in his "dirt-poor rural village. [1]He also held the IBO super welterweight title from 2003 to 2004. After scoring two knockdowns in the 11th, Macklin's corner stopped the fight shortly before the 12th round. After his final fight in Argentina, a February 2002 win over Francisco Mora, Martínez decided to relocate to Spain. [12], Martínez at the age of 22, had his first professional fight on 27 December 1997 in Ituzaingo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Throughout the fight, Barker consistently gave Martínez problems, while never hurting him or really ever winning any of the rounds, he gave Martínez a challenge by coming in but not giving much offence to let Martínez counter or land anything clean. Sergio Gabriel Martínez (born 21 February 1975) is an Argentine professional boxer.He held the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010, and the unified WBC, WBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight titles between 2010 and 2014. Sports", "Sergio Martinez Is WBC Boxer of the Year", "Sergio Martinez v Sergiy Dzinziruk preview", "Sampson Aims For Sergio Martinez Meeting on Future", "Martinez champions fight against bullying outside the ring", "Sergio Martinez Part One: A King Goes in Search of his Crown", "Sergio Martinez: Better late than never", "Sergio Martinez Part Two: The General Crowns his King", "Boxing: Brodie defies eye damage to overpower Argentinian opponent", "Martinez proves his worth against Pavlik", Chavez fails drug test after Martinez defeat, "Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fined $20K, suspended by WBC", Martinez to defend title against Briton Murray – reports, "Miguel Cotto–Sergio Martinez: The End of Maravilla", "Sergio Martinez Announces Retirement From Boxing", "No sé si iría a la revancha de Maravilla – Tiempo de San Juan", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sergio_Martínez_(boxer)&oldid=989909339, Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain, World light-middleweight boxing champions, International Boxing Organization champions, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 November 2020, at 18:47. The opponent for his professional debut, Cristian Marcelo Vivas, was disqualified in the second round, giving Martínez his first win. The fight was controversial for a number of reasons; during the seventh round Martínez knocked Cintron down with a clean left hand shot and the referee reached the count of ten and waved the fight off. "[29], Following the bout, Martínez stated that he wanted to continue his boxing career, and expressed his desire to fight against Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. 3 Ring Middleweight Matthew Macklin of Ireland on 17 March 2012 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. He is divorced and once dated sports commentator Silvana Carsetti. [22] DiBella, a fighters' promoter as opposed to the various charlatans in his field, at one stage takes the WBC to task at their own convention, standing and ranting at now-deceased president José Sulimain - Chavez Jr's godfather, no less - about the organisation's disgraceful treatment of Martinez, declining orders to 'sit down' by the WBC's powers-that-be. The Madison Square Garden crowd was largely pro-Macklin.