Golovkin and Canelo recently agreed to trade blows again on May 5 in Las Vegas, eight months on from when their initial meeting ended in a highly controversial draw at the T-Mobile Arena.
The pair of pound for pound stars return to the same venue on Cinco de Mayo and ‘Maravilla’ believes the correct venue was chosen after weeks of debating whether New York could be considered.
“Las Vegas is the house of the big fights. I’m a romantic. I love Madison Square Garden, but this fight had to be in Las Vegas,” Martinez exclusively told World Boxing News.
Martinez enjoyed one of his greatest nights in Nevada when defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the Thomas and Mack Center in September 2012, whilst New York hosted the ex-160 pound king’s thriller with Matthew Macklin six months prior.
The recently-turned 43 year-old is expecting another competitive effort from both fighters but holds the same view as many in the sport, believing that Golovkin already did more than enough to add a second loss to Canelo’s record.
“I think last September was a very good fight. But in my opinion, Golovkin won the fight clearly,” Martinez told WBN.
“I want to say that Canelo’s performance was very good. He showed very intelligent boxing to everybody and good defensive skills. But it was not enough to win the fight.
“I think that the rematch will be very similar to the first fight and the result will be the same. For me, GGG will win on points,” he added.
Quizzed by WBN as to whether he could have given Golovkin or Canelo a run for their money, Martinez was respectful in his response, although couldn’t resist adding a joke into the mix.
“I would have beaten both of them on the same night!” – he joked.
CHAMPIONS
“But seriously, I don’t want to be the typical former champion talking about the old times. Canelo and Golovkin are very, very good champions and I respect them both a lot.
“Obviously, I think that my southpaw style would have given many problems to both, but when I was in the top they were just growing.
“I was looking for the big names like Floyd Mayweather, Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao, Chavez or Miguel Cotto, two of whom I managed to fight.
“It’s their time now. Golokvin and Canelo are the stars and I wish them all the best for their rematch,” stated Martinez.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
