Sergio Martinez... Deserves Respect

I wonder which fighter is ganna be the first to take advantage of Sergio's one obvious flaw for the first time in a long time.

 

You already know it, Wallet. Sergio fades and gases in almost every fight around the 5th 6th and 7th rounds. It keeps happening for it to be a coincidence. He gives you chances in this fading period and is easier to hit. Not only that but his attack doesn't have the same purpose in this period. He's more freelance with his offense. He shows it too. Until he gets back his second wind he's vulnerable for at least three rounds in the middle. No one has really been able to take advantage of it since Margarito. Pavlik came close. Someone has to go for the knockout after this fatigue sets in. The problem is if you throw the kitchen sink at him and don't stop him you're in trouble once he gets his second wind.

 

Think barker broke his nose in the 4th? From rounds 4 to 6 barker had his best moments after that he was steamrolled. You might be on to something alright he is 36 now

 

He lacked the maturity when he fought Margo, so I don't really hold that against him. Wasn't he at 147 anyway?

It is an issue, but he's smart enough to get on his bike and land occasional counters. Plus he's usually done enough damage in the early rounds to give himself a cushion.

 

I think it was pretty evident in the Pavlik fight too. If I remember rightly it was pretty much as case of Sergio taking 1-4, Pavlik taking 5-8 and then Sergio getting his second wind & sweeping 9-12.

I agree with this. Where you say "If you don't stop him you're in trouble" I'd say that it'd still be the best tactics to pile on the pressure at that point in the fight as we've seen what Sergio is capable of when he's at 100% so beating him any other way would be extremely difficult. The gamble of throwing the kitchen sink is probably the best bet for his current type of opposition

 

The cut was also a factor in the later rounds of the Pavlik flight. I'm not sure how much Martinez gets his second wind and how much the other guy tires down to his level. Maybe in moot point in any case, eh?

 

Whatever it was down to. Margarito did still stop him in that period. I think it's a flaw he's always had and perhaps always will. It's come out even when he has matured so i don't think it was just immaturity. Problem is who can take advantage of it. Not many.

 

You've not followed what I was saying: he couldn't deal with Margarito because he lacked the experience to fight at a measured pace against the Mexican *****.

When he faded mid-rounds, he didn't know how to weather the storm and he didn't have enough in the tank to suck it up.

Yes, it's a flaw, but he's smart enough to deal with it now.

 

That's the key point to me. He did start to slow down vs. Pavlik and let Kelly back into it but then he came back and stormed the last 4 rounds IIRC to get the decision. I think I had Kelly 2 up after 8 so he needed them on my scorecard and it was an impressive fightback I thought.

I like Martinez though, talented fighter whose good to watch and who seems a genuinely good guy outside the ring. I'd like to see him back down at 154 though personally where he'd get the bigger, more exciting fights. Best thing about that video for me was that I realised I didn't need the subtitles, a sign my Spanish is improving hopefully !