Comeback fever must be in the air. Mike Tyson may or may not fight again, the same with Oscar De La Hoya, while Marcos Maidana is going ahead with his fight against a kick-boxer. Now, former middleweight king Sergio Martinez, who has been talking comeback for some months, has a date, an opponent, and a venue all set.
The 45-year-old will face Jose Miguel Fandino of Spain in Torrelavega in Spain on August 21st. A superb fighter in his prime, the Argentine warrior who left the game when he was plagued by knee problems was last seen losing to Miguel Cotto in a one-sided fight. That was right back in 2014 and no-one knows what, if anything, Martinez has left.
Martinez, a classy southpaw with excellent timing and punching power in his day, is 51-3-2(28) overall. Who knows if he can pick up a 52nd win next month. Fandino is a 35-year-old with a decent-looking 15-6(8) record and he is coming off two wins. There is, however, nobody of real note on Fandino’s pro record. Stopped three times, Fandino last boxed down at 154 pounds but he has fought at both middleweight and super-middleweight.
It’s anyone’s guess what we can expect from the fight set for August 21st. Above all, let’s hope the once-great Martinez does not embarrass himself, or worse. Martinez is yet another big name fighter who has found it oh, so hard to stay away from the ring. One the one hand, Martinez’s fans will be hoping he wins next month, but on the other hand, if he does he will likely fight again. Where this particular comeback ends, nobody can say.
In his prime, Martinez thrilled us with big wins over the likes of Paul Williams (via a stunning one-punch KO) Kelly Pavlik, Darren Barkler, Matthew Macklin and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But that was a long time ago now. Recently, Kermit Cintron, who boxed a draw with Martinez in 2009, called Martinez out for a rematch. Maybe this fight will actually happen? If Martinez can beat Fandino.