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Boxing Champion Sergio Martinez calls Nadal his “Most Admired Person”
Doing Biofile interviews always reveals some kind of scoop and my interview yesterday with the champion boxer Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez offered an unexpected insight about Rafael Nadal.
Martinez is the current WBC Middleweight champion of the world and was in New York on Thursday for a press conference to promote his November 20 title defense against Paul “The Punisher” Williams in Atlantic City.
Typical for a Biofile, I asked Martinez, who was born in Argentina and now lives in Oxnard, CA, what are the people qualities he most admires?
Through the interpreter he stated, “The guy from the tennis – Rafa Nadal.”
Why him, I asked, for some elaboration?
“Because he’s great. You need to meet him to know how great he is. He’s a great person.”
Thinking that Martinez met Nadal, I asked where did they meet?
“I had the pleasure to shake hands with him at the tournament in Madrid, that’s all,” said the polite and classy 35-year-old gladiator, who turned pro in Argentina in 1997 and has a ring record of 45-2-2 (24 KO’s). “I did not meet him personally, I know him from that side, like a fan, not like a person or a friend. He was one of many that I shake hands and it was a great moment for me. But I only know him from that side as a fan, not as a personal friend.”
I then asked Sergio if he was aware if Nadal knew that he was a world champion boxer?
“No, no, absolutely not.”
Later on during the official segment of the press conference, Martinez, who is considered by The RING Magazine as the #6 pound-for-pound boxer in the sport today, stepped to the podium and made his statement to the New York media about his November rematch against Williams. The handsome Martinez, attired in a gray business suit, white shirt and tie, spoke in a respectful, noble tone, evoking the class of Nadal.
“No one wants to fight Paul Williams and no one wants to fight Sergio Martinez, so we fight each other. And everyone that doesn’t want to fight us has a very good reason not to want to. This time I have a lot of reason again to fight Paul Williams…it is a fight that everybody wins, every one of us, the fans, media, HBO…We wil try to redo it what we did before and win it again…”
“I don’t want to forget the problems that we have every day in our society…Don’t forget that we have problems and violence outside of the ring. I will never stop to continue working to stop the violence outside the ring. I love my mother and I want to respect every women and I want everyone to respect the women. I will fight inside and outside the ring to stop the violence with women. And every time I have a camera and microphone (in front of me), I will say, Stop the violence…”
“Without HBO and the fans, we are nothing, we don’t exist. My inspiration is to get to the top, to the heart of HBO, and every one of the fans, Anglos, Latinos, all boxing fans. Thank you.”
Martinez and Williams later did a staredown for photographers but playfully joked with each other about having to erase the smiles from their faces, in order to get serious and show the “Let’s get it on” images that help sell fights. It was reminiscent of the friendship of Nadal and Federer – two classy champion rivals who are also good friends at the same time.
