Sergio Martínez (boxer)

Sergio Gabriel Martínez (born 21 February 1975) is an Argentine professional boxer. He has held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010; and the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles between 2010 and 2014. With six successful defenses of ''The Ring'' and lineal middleweight titles, Martínez's 50-month reign as champion ranks as one of the longest in the history of that weight class.

In 2010 he was granted the Konex Award Merit Diploma as one of the five best boxers of the last decade in Argentina. In 2011, Martínez reached a career high ranking as the world's third best active boxer, pound for pound, behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, as voted by most sporting news and boxing publications, including ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, and ''The Ring''. In 2010 he received Fighter of the Year awards by both ''The Ring'' and the Boxing Writers Association of America, as well as ''The Ring'''s Knockout of the Year for his rematch victory against Paul Williams. The WBC named him their Boxer of the Year in 2010 and 2012. A southpaw, Martínez was known as a fast and athletic fighter and his style has been described as "crowd-pleasing", partly because of his tendency to fight with his hands down when out of his opponents' range.

Outside the ring, Martínez has been an active spokesperson in the fight against bullying and domestic violence against women. He is the author of a book, ''Corazón de Rey'' ("Heart of a King"), and is said to be working on a second book. Provided by Wikipedia