Former two division world champion Sergio Martinez made good on his promise to return to the sport in 2020.
Martinez had retired back in 2014, after suffering a knockout loss at the hands of Miguel Cotto.
It took several years for Martinez to recover from lingering knee injuries.
At 45-years-old, Martinez wants to continue marching forward until he accomplishes his goal of a showdown with WBA “regular” middleweight champion Ryota Murata of Japan.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, his return was delayed several times but he managed to finally enter the ring in August – with a stoppage win over Miguel Fandino.
He fought for a second time earlier this month, when he stopped Jossi Koivula.
After two comeback fights, Martinez has already secured a number 5 ranking in the WBA’s top-ten at middleweight.
With the goal of facing Murata by the end of next year, Martinez realizes that he needs to face a better level of opposition.
“We are talking with my team, so that in April there will be another fight. If they give me a choice, I prefer two more fights, and then jump to the one with the title. I’m no longer 20 years old and I [can’t wait around forever]. I need two demanding fights,” Martinez told Olé.
“Right now I’m looking at opponents with a record of 30 wins and 2 losses. I have to raise the level of the opponent because I already feel in the right [physical] condition… I am back, as they say. I want to be world champion again. And a champion is built. To believe that I could return to the level that I left after six years without fighting and without receiving a punch, would be crazy.
“I know what it takes to be a champion, I’ve already been through that. It is difficult and they can hurt you, but I’ve work for that: the challenge is not how much I will land, it is how clean [my face will] be after each fight: at 45 years old it is an extraordinary challenge.”
