Sergio “Wonder” Martinez He will make this Thursday the fourth fight in his journey towards a new opportunity for the middleweight title. From 3:00 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN, he will face 10 rounds at the Wizink Center in Madrid (the former Palacio de los Deportes in the Spanish capital) against the Englishman Macaulay Mc Gowan. A chance tester that will give the measure of what the former world champion is for one month after turning 47 years old and in the 60th fight of his professional career.
“Maravilla” had once received from Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, the president of the World Boxing Association, the promise of giving him a chance if he won three consecutive fights after his return in August 2020. The Quilmeño did his part and fulfilled by defeating the Spanish José Miguel Fandiño and the Finn Jussi Koivula before the limit in 2020 and by points to the English Brian Rose in his only start of 2021. But the pandemic delayed all plans. And forced “Wonder” to keep waiting and staging preparatory fights under the promotion of his own company.
“I have to build a new boxer and for that I need time” Martinez said after his faded win over Rose. The swift legs, swaying waist and crisp reflexes that led him to his two world titles will not return. Remnants of his old style remain. And that reached him up to here to beat rivals of the second order without complications. But surely it will be insufficient if the time comes for him to go for the world championship. Meanwhile, “Maravilla” rehearses in the gym trying to recover the rhythm, time and distance that he lacked in his last performance.
“I’m one loss away from retirement, and that’s my motivation. I don’t want to lose, I don’t want to retire. I do not want to lose”, said “Maravilla” in a promotional video that he uploaded to his social networks. And beyond that no fight is won in advance, a priori McGowan does not seem like an opponent capable of giving him a scare. With a record of 14 wins and two losses, he won the fast lane only three times, most of his wins were against rivals with a very negative record. and drags an inactivity of 13 months and 15 days, since his last fight dates from December 2020. He is a carefully selected rival so as not to cause major setbacks. The idea of ”Maravilla” is to continue accumulating rounds and wins while waiting for the dream of fighting again for a world championship to soon become a reality.
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