Martinez on Chavez Jr.: 'I Will Hit Him, I Will Hurt Him and I Will Do Damage'

Sergio Martinez has been promised a fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on numerous occasions, but for one reason or the other, it had never materialized. That has left Martinez with a sour feeling in his mouth towards team Chavez Jr., and now that the fight has actually come together and is slated for September, Martinez is starting to make sure his plans are well heard and understood.

In a recent visit to The Boxing Lab radio show, Martinez had made it clear that this fight is personal, and that he intends to cause real damage to Chavez Jr. According to a transcript posted on BoxingScene, Martinez stated the following:

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“For his part I don’t know. But on my part, it started when they went back on their word. They said the first defense of his title would be against me and 3 defenses passed and he didn’t fight me. I will beat him in the best manner possible and I don’t think he’ll want a rematch. Hopefully more than one fight can be made, but I will defeat him by knockout. I will hit him, I will hurt him and I will do damage to him and there will be no rematch.”

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Very powerful and promising words from Martinez, but things are generally easier said than done. Chavez Jr. is not a cakewalk, and will also hit back and try to cause his own damage and win via a knockout.

For Chavez Jr., making a statement is far more crucial then it is for Martinez at this point in time, thus I expect Jr. to arrive to the fight ready for a war—which Martinez is likely to bring.

Aside from knocking out Paul Williams in their second fight, I don’t remember Martinez doing any real serious damage to anybody in the ring. He does have some knockouts lately, but his career knockout percentage of 52 percent is not impressive enough to solidify his statement.

I understand why Martinez states that he would not want to give Chavez Jr. a rematch, but money talks, and if the fight is at all competitive, its hard to expect anything but a rematch to follow.

Of course—technically—neither fighter, if a winner, would approach the idea of the rematch first. Whoever wins will claim that they are ready for either Pacquiao or Mayweather Jr. and have the blueprint on how to beat them.

September is not all that far, and we will find out who wanted it more soon enough. I am impressed that this fight was actually made, and think that it will prove to be a very entertaining event.