Sergio Martinez set for August 22nd comeback in Spain

Well, he warned us.

Former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will end a six-year retirement on August 22nd, taking on TBA in Torrelavega, Spain. He joins a number of Spanish standouts, including European champion Sergio Garcia and former super bantamweight titlist Kiko Martinez.

This is a terrible idea, full stop. There are styles that can maintain success despite physical decline, like George Foreman’s retooled cross-arm slugging in his comeback or Bernard Hopkins’ clinch mugging. Martinez’s (51-3-2, 28 KO) is not one of them. At his best, “Maravilla” was a slick, fast-twitch mover with late-blooming power. Then his knees went.

The writing was already on the wall when he stepped into the ring against Miguel Cotto on the heels of a painfully close win over Martin Murray. Cotto ultimately forced four counts and swept nine rounds by the time Martinez’s corner mercifully called a halt.

But the 45-year-old isn’t letting silly notions like self-preservation stop him; he’s set for 10 rounds at 160 pounds. Don’t worry, those thermal baths totally fixed him right up.