Sergio Martinez wants Joshua Clottey on December 5, rips Sergio Mora

BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno reports that WBC junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez wants to fight again in December, preferably against welterweight contender Joshua Clottey on the December 5 undercard of Kelly Pavlik's middleweight championship defense against Paul Williams.

Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KO) last fought in February against Kermit Cintron, when Cintron benefited from some awful refereeing and questionable ringside judging to earn a draw. Most saw it as a clear victory for Martinez, who appeared to have knocked out Cintron at one point, only to have referee Frank Santore Jr. strangely restart the fight.

Since then, Martinez has been at a standstill. He tried to land a fight with Pavlik himself, to no avail. He also saw a fight with Vernon Forrest, which he badly wanted for about two years, become impossible when Forrest was murdered this summer. He has vowed to wear the word "Viper" on his trunks in his next fight, to honor the rival he never got to face.

Says Martinez:

"I hope Clottey steps to the plate and accepts the fight. Clottey says that he is a warrior. Let him prove it. I just hope that he's not another p***y like Sergio Mora, who was too scared to fight me. I'll fight anyone at 154 or 160. It doesn't matter who the fighter is."

I doubt Clottey will have any issue taking a fight against Martinez, even having to move up to 154. Clottey is odd man out at welterweight again, too good for anyone to really want to fight, and not worth enough money to make them fight him. His tight loss to Miguel Cotto in June upped his stock, as many felt he won the bout. At the moment, Cotto is preparing for a huge money fight with Manny Pacquiao, and fellow top welterweight Shane Mosley is looking to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he can, with HBO trying to work Mosley-Andre Berto for January if Mayweather-Mosley isn't going to happen. That leaves Clottey with precious few options, and a step up in weight might be necessary. Martinez is among the best fighters the division has to offer.

It would be an interesting fight between two very different but equally tremendous defensive fighters. Martinez is a cutie, a southpaw slickster, while Clottey is a rugged guy that likes to keep the action tight with his arms high, picking off shots from opposing fighters. I think it also runs the risk of being a real stinker to watch, but both guys deserve a good fight. Sometimes it just is what it is. I don't see anyone else rushing to fighter either of them.