Judging by the commentary on HBO’s Boxing After Dark this past weekend, you would think that Sergio Martinez’s eight-round battering of Alex Bunema had single-handedly launched Martinez into boxing’s stratosphere, making him one of the most dangerous pound-for-pound fighters in the ring. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, and Lennox Lewis all fawned over Martinez’s dazzling hand speed, movement, and ring generalship. Kellerman suggested that Martinez get into the ring with Antonio Margarito, to perhaps avenge the only blemish on his record, a 7th round TKO from eight years ago. Lampley argued that Martinez would be a terror at any weight class from 147 to 160 pounds, so impressive was his steamrolling of Bunema, Martinez’s most pedigreed opponent to date.
Certainly Martinez looked very impressive in his dominating win. And certainly, his victory deserves to land him bigger and better opportunities in whatever division he chooses to fight in the coming months. But please, let’s apply just a little skepticism to this bandwagon. Yes, Bunema was, on paper, a quality opponent. But the story of last night’s bout was not simply Martinez’s great performance; it was also Bunema’s horrible showing.
About halfway through the first round, Martinez abandoned any pretense of defensive posture and kept his hands around his waist. He maintained that posture for the rest of the fight, and yet, amazingly, Bunema managed to land only 31 punches. 31 punches in eight rounds. Less than 10 jabs. Not one meaningful punch in the entire fight, while Martinez just danced in front of him, begging to be tagged with a right hand. Martinez was able to do this because he quickly realized that Bunema was not sending anything back his way. So he showboated his way to a dominating victory.
What was wrong with Bunema? He had given a good account of himself in recent fights, with knockouts in each of his last five bouts. HBO commentators, even as Bunema was getting battered around the ring and throwing nothing back, talked up Bunema’s punching power as a potential equalizer in an otherwise lopsided fight. But last night, the power was not there. The poise was not there. The fighter was not there. As my wife noted from the opening bell, Bunema’s eyes looked glassy and bloodshot before he had taken any punishment. In his own corner he looked listless, drained. He simply wasn’t there. So what happened? Was he sick? Did he hurt himself making weight? No one knows. But until we know more about what was happening with Alex Bunema last night, we are not in any position to judge Sergio Martinez’s potential.
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