By James Slater – It seems Irish warrior Andy Lee is all that stands in the way of a Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Junior middleweight title showdown. According to a piece on Ringtv.com, both fighters and their promoters have agreed the financial split, yet all the other details still have to be ironed out (“Chavez wants to fight Martinez next and Martinez wants to fight Chavez. A lot of the work is done,” Bob Arum told Ring)
The fight, one both men say they really want, is also reliant on unbeaten Chavez Junior getting past talented and tough Andy Lee, his next challenger, on June 16th.
Martinez, seen as just about unbeatable and certainly capable of not only beating young Chavez but of stopping him, has craved this fight for some time. Angered at the way the Mexican star was “handed” the WBC belt, Martinez feels he himself is the best 160-pounder on the planet, and most fans agree with him. Chavez Jr. will almost certainly enter the ring as a considerable underdog if the fight does come off.
Interestingly, however, if Lee manages to take the WBC strap from Chavez Jr. in June, Martinez will face him instead. Martinez already has signed an agreement to face Lee in accordance with a contract that was completed last month, Ringtv reports.
“I will definitely fight Lee. I just want to fight for the belt,” Martinez said.
In all honesty, and though both Lee and Chavez Jr. are good fighters, I’d make Martinez a considerable favourite over the pair of them. The June 16th fight in El Paso, Texas should be an interesting, exciting battle, and unless he falls foul of a bad decision, I think southpaw Lee, 28-1(20) can upset Chavez, 45-0-1(31).
A Martinez-Lee clash would not be as big or as marketable as a Martinez-Chavez showdown (which would be massive in Mexico), but this could be the fight we wind up getting. And, as Martinez says, he simply wants back the WBC belt that was taken from him. Whoever “Maravilla” fights, be it Lee or Chavez, he will have cleaned up the division even further should he win.
Martinez may never get the mega-fight he so desperately wants (against either Floyd Mayweather Junior or Manny Pacquiao), but he can solidify his legacy be cleaning up and dominating the middleweight division for the next few years to come.