:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/16763323/152062036.0.jpg)
Sergio Martinez says he'll be on the shelf for at least six months, and the likely return for the reigning middleweight champ is still spring 2014 by all accounts, meaning he'll be out of action about a full year by the time he actually gets back.
Martinez, 38, is hoping to come back with a bang to face the Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez winner, but his own statement reveals a major roadblock:
"Today Mayweather is the best. But if Canelo wins, he will be the best. I want either one of them, I do not care who wins. ... I'm not thinking about retirement. I'm signed for two more fights with [HBO], after that I will sit down and consider whether I plan hang up the gloves."
That last part is the roadblock: Sergio being signed for two more fights with HBO pretty much counts out the possibility that he could face Mayweather any time soon, as Floyd is signed to Showtime for four more fights after the Canelo bout. Alvarez, being a Golden Boy fighter, is also working exclusively with Showtime these days.
Another possibility is a rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, which Martinez says he'd be interested in taking. That's far more likely, but only if Chavez can actually make 160, because Martinez has been adamant that he will not go up to 168 pounds, feeling he's simply too small for the division, which is probably true.
One other potential fight for Sergio that has floated around a bit is Miguel Cotto, who will return to the ring on October 5 against Delvin Rodriguez, back on HBO. Cotto, a promotional free agent, can fight anyone on any network, and he's worth good money. Cotto scoffed at a Martinez fight back in late 2011, when reporters asked why he chose to face Antonio Margarito instead of Martinez, asking aloud whether anyone thought Martinez would net him a $5 million payday. More likely than not, Cotto realizes that $5 million paydays are now behind him, and that fight could be a lot more negotiable than before.
Considering that Sergio vs the Floyd-Canelo winner is highly unlikely, would you rather see Chavez Jr or Cotto across the ring when Sergio comes back next year, assuming he goes straight into a high-level fight?