Four years on from his last fight against Miguel Cotto, the former pound for pound star is currently in training and could be ready to fight this year.
Answering a recent social media post by old foe Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., whom ‘Maravilla’ defeated despite a late scare in 2012, Martinez revealed he’s already been cleared to box by Argentinian authorities and would be willing to accept a realistic offer from the Mexican to fight in November.
“It is OK that Julio Cesar Chavez wants to fight me again as I would only come back to face him or another big name of my generation like Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao,” Martinez exclusively told World Boxing News.
“For me, this is a big challenge and I love challenges. I am training since months ago and I am not joking about this. If he really wants it we can do it.
“I offered him through Twitter that a fight if possible as early as November and I was licensed by Argentina ten days ago so I am ready to go.”
Asked why he decided to apply for clearance before the interest from Chavez, Martinez -who suffered from knee problems later in his career, explained: “I am recording a documentary about my life and the director want to do sparring sessions.
“I wanted to be sure that everything is OK, and to be honest, I feel in a very good shape and have recovered of my injuries.”
Giving an assessment of Chavez in the years since their meeting, Martinez said the one-time WBC middleweight champion would have achieved lots more during his career with the correct application.
“Is a pity that he never trained hard in all his career as I think he is a good fighter and could have done bigger things.”
Chavez has also been linked to a possible bout against Sergio Mora, which Martinez said he wouldn’t stand in the way of if a deal was in place.
Martinez would then wait until 2019 and continue to grind hard in the gym.
“I hope that we receive positive interest in the fight and we could face in November as Chavez would have to win against Mora if he wants to rematch with me later. Or he can go directly with me in the month of November and we can get this fight done.
“I think that we can agree on a fight inside the super-middleweight category and I would like to think a weight of around 165 pounds would suit both of us.”
Concluding with his thoughts on his final opponent, Miguel Cotto – who recently finished his time in boxing, Martinez pointed out that he would be in no position to give the Puerto Rican advice at this point in time.
“I think that Cotto was not in his best moment when he fought Sadam Ali and he is to much better than he showed. He looked like me the night that I fought against him.
“But right now, I am nobody to give advice to another fighter about retirement considering I am talking about my comeback at 43 years!
“I truly wish Cotto all the best hope he can be in peace with himself outside the ring,” said Martinez.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
