Sergio Martinez: Fights With Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto?

Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) has shocked and amazed the world with glorious beat-downs and spine-tingling knockouts, yet the best fighters don't want to fight him.

There is virtually no one else in his weight division left to fight.

Now he's searching for the biggest names near his weight division, primarily welterweights Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (42-0, 26 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs), as well as junior middleweight Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs).

Those three represent the biggest attractions in boxing that are still active.

Martinez rightfully wants to get paid more than he currently makes against lesser known opposition, so what can he now do?

He should follow my three-step program to big fights and big paychecks, which begins on the next page.

Call Them Out On Live Television

This method worked for Shane Mosley.

On September 19, 2009, Mayweather defeated Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KOs) by unanimous decision. During the post-fight interview with HBO's Max Kellerman, Mosley interrupted.

He stepped in the ring and proceeded to tell Mayweather that he wants to "get it on."As if this were the WWE (Triple H was in the ring at the time), Mosley called out Mayweather to his face.

Both trash-talked and acted as if they would physically harm each other if their entourages and security weren't there to break them up.

This provided visual evidence to the millions watching the fight on HBO pay-per-view that Mayweather was called out by Mosley.

Which meant Mayweather couldn't say he wasn't called out.

The event quickly jump-started talk of a fight between the two, and the Internet was buzzing, so Mayweather had no choice but to step up.

Martinez may be a gentleman, but he'll have to make stronger statements publicly if he wants a big fight.

Mosley eventually got his big fight on May 1, 2010 against Mayweather.  

Give In To Every Demand

Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 38 KOs) gave in to many demands, including moving up to 144 pounds from his comfortable weight class of 135 pounds, for a shot at Manny Pacquiao.

The same can be said for Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs), who agreed to a 150-pound limit for a vacant title at 154 pounds against Pacquiao.

Martinez has said he is willing to undergo Mayweather's random blood testing that Mosley and Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs) also went through.

Martinez has also recently mentioned he is willing to drop down from 160 to 150 pounds to face Pacquiao at the catch weight of his request.

So long as Martinez repeats this every time he's on camera, one of these men will face him. Persistence is sometimes all you need to win what you want.

Call Fighters Out After Great Performances Against Top Opponents

Sergio Martinez has a scheduled match with Darren Barker on October 1. Do you hear the crickets? Assuming Martinez wins, it won't matter who he calls out during the post-fight interview.

Martinez could call out God or the Devil and still not get any attention paid to him.

The biggest fight possible in his division is between himself and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (43-0, 30 KOs).

Chavez, Jr. is the WBC middleweight champ after the title was stripped from Martinez for not facing a mandatory opponent. Now Chavez has until the end of March to face Martinez.

Should that fight not come to fruition, the biggest possible fight for Martinez is against German fighter Felix Sturm (36-2-1, 15 KOs).

So long as Martinez can be impressive against Chavez, Jr. or come into Sturm's neighborhood and dominate with HBO televising the performance in wonderful HD, the world won't be able to ignore him.

HBO has already been pushing Martinez as far as he can go after he delivered a shocking second round knockout of Paul Williams last November.

The only problem is getting opposition. Martinez may have to take a risk.

He might have to fight at a catch weight with someone bigger like Bernard Hopkins (52-5-2, 34 KOs) or Lucian Bute (29-0, 24 KOs).

A great performance against HBO regular Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) is what allowed Ortiz to take, and later ruin, the opportunity of a lifetime against Mayweather.

An equally great performance against Margarito is what allowed Mosley the chance to face, and ultimately lose, to Mayweather.

Great performances against the right opponents at the right time are the absolute number one way to catch a fight with one of boxing's current cash cows, and Sergio Martinez should be next line in his weight class.