"We're still negotiating; most likely it will be the winner of Zbik and [Julio Cesar Chavez] Jr.," stated adviser Sampson Lewkowicz, who gave us an update on the future plans of middleweight king Sergio Martinez. Despite rumors of a potential return to the ring in July to face off against former Contender star Peter Manfredo Jr., Lewkowicz insists that they have yet to finalize any details regarding Martinez's next fight. In fact, according to Lewkowicz, the winner of Zbik vs. Chavez Jr. is their number one choice and they're willing to wait for the outcome of that fight in hopes of finding a more suitable challenger for the middleweight throne.
"I believe number one right now is the winner of Chavez and Zbik because he has Martinez's title. Sergio gave up the title under the condition that the winner would fight him. Jose Sulaiman promised Martinez that if the winner doesn't fight him, he'll be stripped immediately. Then he would fight the next available contender," Lewkowicz expained. Of course, if Martinez is holding out for the winner of that fight, his return to the ring won't be happening in July, as Zbik and Chavez Jr. aren't even scheduled to fight until June 4th.
When asked if he thought it would be difficult to make either fight a reality, Lewkowicz replied, "Zbik took the fight [already]. With Chavez, we'll see what happens. The only reason we haven't fought Zbik already is because HBO wouldn't allow him to fight Martinez, but they allowed him to fight Chavez. If he beats Chavez, there's no reason for HBO not to take him." Indeed, prior to his impressive 8th-round stoppage of previously unbeaten jr. middleweight champion Sergiy Dzinziruk, Martinez and Lewkowicz had already explored the possibility of fighting the undefeated interim WBC champion Zbik, but for some reason, HBO deemed him an unworthy opponent. Evidently, what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander...or in this case, what's not good for the goose is perfectly fine for the gander. It begs the question, exactly what is HBO's criteria for approving opponents if they believe Peter Manfredo Jr. is a worthy of facing the middleweight king?
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK LATER FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH SAMPSON LEWKOWICZ
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