Sergio Martinez and the 5 British Fighters He Faced in His Professional Career

Sergio Martinez took the long road to the top during his boxing career.

The man known as Maravilla became the leading middleweight in the world before age and injuries took their toll on his body and forced him to quit at the age of 40.

The Argentinian fighter had recorded wins over Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. during a spell between 2010 and 2013 when he was recognised as the best around at 160 pounds.

He also beat a trio of British boxers during that same period—Darren Barker, Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray all tried and failed to get the better of him.

However, they were not the only Brits who faced Martinez.

During his early years when he campaigned down at super welterweight, he travelled to Bristol and Manchester in England, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland, for bouts.

No, honestly. Martinez used to appear on cards in Great Britain—and he wasn't even the main attraction.

As Martinez turns 41 on Sunday, Bleacher Report has looked back at the five Brits who faced him in the paid ranks.

Richard Williams

Richard Williams was nicknamed The Secret, but Martinez knew all about him after the pair met twice in the ring in the space of 10 months.

Williams had won the Commonwealth super welterweight title in his 12th fight, which suggested he could go on and make an impact at the world level.

However, he came up against Martinez—who had moved to Spain from his native Argentina to further his career—for the first time in June 2003, at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

The visiting fighter picked up the lightly regarded IBO title with a unanimous points win, although Martinez later admitted the result was about much more than any belt.

He told Diego Morilla of The Ring magazine in 2015: "The fight in England is everything in my life. I am a different person after that fight. It was the most important night of my career and my personal life."

In the rematch staged in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in April 2004, Maravilla made sure the judges were not required.

Martinez stopped Williams (21-5-1, 17 KOs) inside the distance, though few predicted at the time just what the triumphant Argentinian would go on to achieve in his career.

As for the loser, he failed to become British champion after moving up to middleweight in 2006 and then hung up his gloves.

There was a brief comeback six years later, but a TKO loss in London quickly put that plan to rest.

Adrian Stone

Although he was born in Bristol, England, Adrian Stone spent the vast majority of his boxing career fighting in the United States.

The Predator (33-5-2, 26 KOs) carved out opportunities for himself on American soil.

He faced future world champion Vernon Forrest in 1998 for the NABF belt and challenged Shane Mosley for the WBC welterweight title three years later, although he lost on both occasions.

However, the clash with Sugar Shane in Las Vegas in 2001 was the only time in his last nine outings that Stone fought outside of Britain.

His final outing was against Martinez, who had already made a name for himself in the United Kingdom by beating Richard Williams for the first time to become the new IBO champion at super welterweight.

In 2003, the South American proved too good for Stone, who announced his retirement after being knocked out in his hometown.

He later told John Evans of Boxing Monthly: "After the Sergio Martinez fight, my sister said that I had to give up and right away I knew it was time for me."

Darren Barker

Associated Press

Sergio Martinez had to work hard against Darren Barker in New Jersey.

By 2011, Martinez had become the dominant force at the 160-pound limit.

But, having beaten both Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams (in a rematch), Maravilla suddenly discovered the top names were unwilling to face him.

Darren Barker, however, was happy to travel to get a crack at a fighter who was recognised by The Ring magazine as the best middleweight on the planet, per BoxRec.

The Londoner (26-2, 16 KOs) had picked up the British, Commonwealth and European belts during a 23-fight unbeaten streak, but this bout saw him step up to an entirely new level.

Few thought he would last long, let alone cause Martinez any problems. However, Barker left several marks on his opponent before eventually being stopped in Round 11.

Boxing journalist Jeff Powell wrote in his report for the Daily Mail: "They called Darren Barker a joke. Sergio Martinez wasn’t laughing as his English challenger sliced open his forehead and broke his nose before succumbing to the power of Argentina’s world middleweight champion."

Barker did go on to get a world title, coming out on the right end of a split decision against Daniel Geale in 2013 to become the new IBF champion.

Felix Sturm made it a short reign, though the Englishman was actually beaten by a serious hip injury that eventually forced him to retire from the ring.

Matthew Macklin

After seeing off Barker, Martinez found another Brit in his way in the form of Matthew Macklin.

The Birmingham-born Macklin had suffered a controversial split-decision points loss against Germany's Felix Sturm in the WBA Super champion's back yard last time out.

Mack The Knife was at ringside to see Barker lose to Martinez, although he wasn't too impressed. He told Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail: "I would love to fight him. I’ve seen enough here to believe I can beat him."

The former British and European champion showed a willingness to stand and trade with his rival at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York in March 2012.

Martinez—who did not hold one of the major belts after being forced to give up the WBC's version, per Lem Satterfield of The Ring—was given a standing eight count in Round 7 after his glove touched the canvas.

However, the southpaw eventually overpowered Macklin (34-6, 22 KOs) in the closing stages.

Martinez dropped the Brit twice in Round 11. After the second occasion, and despite the knockdown coming in the closing seconds before the end of the round, Macklin's corner threw in the towel.

The beaten fighter was not entirely happy with the decision from his team, according to BBC Sport: "I've never ever quit. I wanted to continue. I gave it 100 per cent."

Macklin went on to lose to Gennady Golovkin the following year. He is next due to face domestic rival Brian Rose on April 9.

Martin Murray

Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press

Martinez climbed off the canvas to defeat Martin Murray on points in Argentina.

Martin Murray came close to upsetting both Martinez and the home crowd in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he pushed his fellow middleweight all the way on April 27, 2013.

Fighting in his own backyard for the first time in 11 years, Martinez—who had reclaimed the WBC title in his previous outing by beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.—had to climb off the canvas to hold onto his belt.

Murray sent his opponent to the floor with a straight right hand that caught Martinez as he was moving backward.

It seemed he also went down again in Round 10, only for referee Massimo Barrovecchio to rule that it was a slip rather than the reaction from a glancing blow.

Martinez overcame the wobbly moments to come on strong down the finish, doing enough in the closing stages to win by scores of 115-112 from all three judges.

However, Murray (32-3-1, 15 KOs) could rightly feel frustrated at the decision not to award him a second knockdown.

Ricky Hatton, Murray's promoter, said, per Gareth A Davies of the Telegraph: "When you go into the lion’s den you have to rip the title from the champion and although he couldn’t finish as strong as he we would have liked, Martin was the aggressor. He also scored a knockdown and it should have been two in my opinion."

For Martinez, the signs were there that the end was nigh.

He fought just once more, losing to Miguel Cotto when forced to retire in Round 10, before hanging up his gloves.