After months of hype, Sergio Martinez got his moment in the spotlight and defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., by unanimous decision. But it was not without a scare, as Chavez Jr. nearly knocked out Martinez in the final round.
Out boxed and Out worked
From the opening of the fight up to round 11, Sergio Martinez looked, nothing short of the
“Maravilla” nickname he wears. He consistently out boxed Chavez Jr., by demonstrating superior speed, constant movement, and punching from a variety of angles. Chavez Jr. never seemed to get going or let his hands loose so he could launch his own offensive threat. Rather he appeared to simply follow his opponent around the ring and get peppered with shots all night. When Chavez Jr. did land punches, Maravilla always countered with several of his own, as if to send the message that he would remain in control of the pace of the fight.
History Almost Repeats Itself
Comfortably ahead on all score cards by the last round Chavez Jr. needed a knockout to win. He almost delivered. In the last round, which may earn “round of the year” honors, Chavez Jr. stepped up the pace and with just over a minute left in the round he connected with a right that visibly dazed Martinez and floored him. Though Martinez would get up Chavez Jr. was now in hot pursuit and appeared to floor Martinez once more, but it was ruled a slip. It harkened back images of what his father accomplished a little over 20 years ago when behind on all scorecards he knocked out Meldrick Taylor with only seconds left in the final round. Would history repeat itself? It was not to be as Martinez rose to his feet and finished the fight.
Post-Fight
The result was Martinez by unanimous decision, winning the fight 118-109 on two judges’ cards with the third judge scoring it 117-110. During the post-fight interview with Max Kellerman, Martinez said of Chavez Jr.
“He fought a great fight and he was tougher than I expected.”
Chavez Jr., in his post-fight interview to Kellerman stated,
“I started way too late. I thought I could do the whole fight what I did the last round. I didn’t get started until the eighth round.”
So it begs the question, what’s next? While Martinez essentially dominated the fight and showed why he is considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters. Chavez Jr. raised some questions. What if he did pick up the pace earlier? Would the result be different? At the very least Chavez Jr. earned a measure of respect and raised the possibility of a rematch. When Martinez was asked if he would grant a rematch to Chavez Jr., he stated to Kellerman
“We are two professionals and if Julio wants a rematch and the public wants a rematch, we’ll do a rematch.”
Let’s wait and see folks.