The 32 year-old, who himself unified the division before being stripped of the WBA version, was hopeful of being given the chance to gain another belt against Martinez later this year, with initial contact already being made for the potential clash.
“There were some negotiations that were taking place (with Martinez), even before the Murray fight,” Geale told Sky News Australia.
“He broke his hand again (also hurt his knee) and apparently he’s going to be out for a while.
“That is the guy that we would like to fight and they showed a lot of interest in him fighting me in his next fight after he got through Murray.”
Whether Murray would come into the equation now that ‘Maravilla’ is out of commission is another matter as Geale looks for an opponent following the recent ban handed down to mandatory challenger Sam Soliman.
WBN have learned today from Murray’s manager Neil Marsh that there would be interest on their side in a fight with Geale on Australian soil, although the champion has been linked to another Brit in Darren Barker. With Fellow-Aussie Soliman being given a nine month suspension and his eliminator with Felix Sturm then ruled a no contest, the likelihood is that Geale will face a rematch with his old German foe, although Barker or Murray would both make sense in the interim.
“We’re just going off what the IBF want us to do,’ Geale stipulated. “As far as we’re concerned the IBF have agreed on me having another fight while he (Soliman) gets sorted.
“When he gets sorted then we’ll do whatever we have to do. (But) If I miss out on keeping busy and fighting that’s not fair,” he added.
