Photo via maravillabox.com
Former middleweight world champion Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez made official his retirement from boxing during the Hall of Fame weekend in Canastota, New York.
Martinez's announcement marked the end of an era for Argentine and Latin American boxing.
Martinez is leaving boxing after 56 fights with 51 victories, three defeats and two draws. Two of those defeats were knockouts and the third was by disputed decision, and Martinez never lost in his native Argentina
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TYC Sports obtained a transcript of Martinez's speech (via BoxingScene.com's Elsinio Castillo) on June 13:
"Hello, everyone, and thank you very much for being here. I am here to thank my family...First, in my 20 years of life as a boxer for always supporting me. My uncles Reuben...Raul and Carlos Alberto "Coca" Andrade, Gabriel Sarmiento, Miguel de Pablos, Sampson Lewkowicz, Nathan Lewkowicz and Lou DiBella for helping me grow as an athlete and human being.
"They stood by me, all of them were always helping me and I needed that. I am here to thank those who with their affection helped me, people who always supported me, which is always going to stay with me and in my heart...I thank those who from day one believed in me because they helped me grow and trust my instincts.
"I also want to thank those who did not believe in me because I was filled with strength from that. Those who put roadblocks only strengthened my steps...My father, whose faith was easier this way a boxer; my mother, who is still suffering as every mother does and had faith in me...I want to give my special thanks to my athletic father Don Jose Sulaiman and Don Mauricio Sulaiman...Also the WBC...
"And above all, I thank you for giving me the life that I have today from boxing and for making me the man that I am. Thanks to boxing and all the family of this wonderful sport. And especially, to all my fans around the world."
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Martinez started boxing at the age of 20. He recorded his first pro fight in 1997 after 41 amateur bouts. He initially pursued an athletic career in cycling and didn't make his HBO debut until the age of 33 when he beat Alex Bunema by referee technical decision in 2008, per Coppinger.
He won the Lineal, WBC and The Ring middleweight titles when he beat Kelly Pavlik by unanimous decision in 2010. Since then, he was able to defend his titles six times until his loss to Cotto last year
The end of his career were hampered by injuries and his final fight came a year ago, when Miguel Cotto forced a painful retirement in the 10th round and took over his championship reign.
Martinez retires with a career record of 51-3-2 (28 KO), with six successful defenses of the world middleweight championship between 2010 and 2013.
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