Sergio Martinez Is "The Fastest Junior Middleweight" Boxer Ever

Former WBC, WBO and The Ring Magazine middleweight champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik relinquished his belts to WBC super welterweight titlist Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez by a resounding unanimous decision loss Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) badly bludgeoned Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) early in the bout and his extreme quickness never enabled “The Ghost” an opportunity to land a steady barrage of punches.

“I’ve never promoted anybody with this kind of athleticism before,” said Martinez’s promoter Lou DiBella, a graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Law School. “This guy is a different kind of fighter. He does some things that make me think of Roy Jones when he was young.”

Renowned HBO boxing analyst Jim Lampley echoed DiBella’s sentiments and he has often called Martinez, “The fastest junior middleweight I’ve ever seen.”

Martinez, 35, an Argentinean southpaw, is further remarkable when one takes into account the fact that he didn’t begin boxing until his early-20s.

Prior to his foray into “The Sweet Science,” Martinez pursued professional careers in bicycling and soccer.

Despite his relatively advanced age for a prizefighter, DiBella is confident that Martinez will continue to thrive as a pugilist.

“I still think he’s in his prime even though he’s in his mid-30s,” said DiBella. “He just discovered how good he is. He has a window of multiple years where he really could be a superstar.”

Speed is generally the first thing that a boxer squanders upon graying.

Therefore, it will be particularly fascinating to see how Martinez adapts and alters his style of fighting with time.

Pavlik’s decisive undoing was the second time that he has been defeated over the course of his past four battles.

At 28, Pavlik is still very young and in the prime of his athletic career.

Nevertheless, Pavlik looked extremely slow and tentative this past weekend.

To a degree, Pavlik certainly seemed cautious to jab with his twice surgically-repaired left-hand.

Pavlik employs an orthodox stance and his thunderous right-hand is dependent on the effectiveness of his jab.

Pavlik’s ability to jab is what prepares and positions him to launch his mighty right-hand.

If Pavlik’s left-hand continues to be a hindrance, he will forever struggle to establish an advantage and that will preclude him from landing his fearsome right with any legitimate force.

At this juncture, Sergio Martinez looks like a young 35-year-old man.

Conversely, Kelly Pavlik appears to be a spent 28-year-old.

Hopefully, “The Ghost” can manage to again make noise someday in the future.

Either way, Martinez is indeed “Maravilla” (Marvelous).