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DiBella says Mayweather-Martinez can happen


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Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is taking somewhat of a stay-busy fight, as he will face lightly-regarded Darren Barker on Oct. 1 in Atlantic City.

 

In the barren middleweight division, there are no big fights for Martinez right now, but there are plenty of big fighters south at 147 and 154, and Martinez would certainly move down to junior middleweight for the right fight, according to Martinez’s promoter Lou DiBella.

 

“He can get down to ’54, but he really re-sculpted his body when he moved up (to 160) for Pavlik,” said DiBella. “He’s already seen [nutritionists], his most comfortable weight is right between ’54 and ‘60. So, he can go down to ’54, but below ’54, he hasn’t been there in years and years. And he’s not a young kid, at 36, shrinking down that far [is difficult].”

 

One such big fight Martinez that could be made at junior middleweight is with Floyd “Money” Mayweather, a fight DiBella would welcome.

 

“I think that Mayweather’s the only guy that I can see [taking the fight],” said the New York-based promoter. “Pacquiao’s too small and Floyd’s defense is so great, that Sergio would have problems penetrating it. So that’s the most interesting fight and I also think that it’s much, much more likely that Mayweather would fight Sergio than Pacquiao.”

 

DiBella see’s Mayweather-Martinez as a real possibility, but only if once again the biggest fight in boxing is unable to be made.

 

“I think the only way it’s possible is if they can’t get their shit together and make Mayweather-Pacquiao.

 

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=42767

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I feel bad for Lou, he's got a guy who wasn't managed worth a shit for his entire career and now is among Boxing's Elite, but has Zero chance of getting a major payday and is running short of time at 36 years old. All he can do is call out the big names for a fight they'll never make.
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Mayweather avoided fighting the best within his own division for years - Lou Dibella must be out of his mind if he thinks Mayweather is going to move up even one division and fight someone like Martinez.Pacquiao and Mayweather just arent realistic options.
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I agree - given Mayweather's done so little at welterweight he may as well finish his career there. Not that there are many decent opponents left at the weight any more.

 

When a fighter has cleared out his division to the extent where there are no more viable opponents(Calzaghe, Hopkins), he would be well-advised to move up to add meaningful fighters to his record.

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It's tradition. The Great Ones throughout the past have always moved up in weight. We've had a few that have stayed put, Hagler comes to mind, but I don't think it's asking a lot that if Mayweather or Pacquiao wants to make a huge statement in terms of legacy then they could take a stab at the Middleweight title. Obviously they wont, but I think that's more of a business decision and Martinez' somewhat limited star power.
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Thats a bit of the old which came first, the hen or the egg scenario though really Dave.

 

How many of those guys actually went up legitimately ( we can discount Leonard with his 162 limit on Hearns for the S / Middle title, and the Lalaonde debacle ) as opposed to no longer being able to boil down to false weights?

 

Obviously I am not counting the greats who fought at weights they had no chance of making unless they didn't train and ate like pigs, but were quite happy to concede plenty of weight to the other guy.

 

SRR / Joey Maxim springs straight to mind.

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