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Sergio Martinez apparently doesn't agree with Top Rank's Bob Arum that his career has been poorly promoted by Lou DiBella, as the middleweight champion signed "at least" a six-fight contract extension with DiBella Entertainment today, according to Dan Rafael:
Spoke to 160 champ @maravillabox and promoter @loudibella today. Sergio signed a new contract with Lou for at least 6 fights today. #boxing
Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KO) has a fight set for October 1 against the United Kingdom's Darren Barker, which as we detailed earlier today has received a mixed reception from the boxing fanbase, but is a fight I personally think is entirely acceptable. Martinez, who is 36 and has said before he doesn't plan to fight too much longer, obviously believes that DiBella can get him the best fights out there, and must think that Barker and his last opponent, Sergiy Dzinziruk, were the best that could be done at the times of those fights.
What this really tells me is that Martinez truly believes that he could get bigger fights if it weren't for other promoters refusing to put their guys in the ring with him -- namely, Top Rank -- and that he doesn't think DiBella is harming the potential to land money fights with someone like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Miguel Cotto. Martinez must feel that those fights simply aren't an option for reasons that are out of his or DiBella's hands, and truth be told, he's probably right.
Some have expressed the idea that Martinez could get bigger fights if he had signed with one of the two U.S. power brokers, Top Rank or Golden Boy. I guess maybe Top Rank might be more willing to risk Cotto or Chavez if they then had the man who could well embarrass either of them in their stable, and the ability to make further money off of him. But other than those two fights, there really just isn't a ton out there for him at 160. His ultimate goal would be a catchweight fight with Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr, but only dreamers are really waiting on either of those fights to happen.
And don't forget that DiBella is the promoter who signed Martinez and led him to HBO main events and the world middleweight championship, after Top Rank passed on signing Martinez a few years back. Whether he properly read Martinez's upside or simply got lucky, that matters, and it appears that "Maravilla" values loyalty.