Martinez recovering from injuries suffered in Chavez fight

LAS VEGAS -- The advisor of RING middleweight champion Sergio Martinez said the fighter received eight stitches to repair a cut over his left eye, two staples in his head, and suffered from both a broken left hand and torn ligaments in his right knee following Saturday night's unanimous decision that dethroned WBC titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. before a sold-out crowd of 19,186 in an HBO Pay Per View-televised clash at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Martinez (50-2-2, 28 knockouts) rose from a knockdown in the 12th round after having dominated the first 11, winning by scores of 118-109 on the cards of judges Dave Moretti and Adalaide Byrd, and, 117-110, on that of Stanley Christodoulu.

Chavez (46-0-1, 32 KOs), who won a total of just four of the 36 rounds scored by the judges, floored Martinez with a series of blows in the final round that was highlighted by three head-swiveling left hooks. 

Martinez appeared to have twisted his right leg while spiraling to the canvas and also while attempting to support himself by holding onto Chavez. 

"He is resting up. He will probably need surgery on his knee. It was a war," Martinez's advisor, Sampson Lewkowicz, told RingTV.com. "But at the age of 37, Sergio Martinez left the ring as an idol not only for his Argentinian people but also worldwide."

Chavez, 26, earned $3 million compared to $1.4 million for Martinez, and was coming off a seventh-round stoppage victory over southpaw challenger Andy Lee (28-1, 20 KOs) in June. Martinez was last in the ring for an 11th-round knockout victory over Matthew Macklin.

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com