Lem's latest: Martinez vs. Murray on April 27 in Argentina

RING middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will face unbeaten Martin Murray, of England, on April 27 in his native Argentina on HBO with plans to "pursue a rematch" on Sept. 14 against Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the man he dethroned as WBC titleholder by unanimous decision in September, according to Martinez's advisor, Sampson Lewkowicz.

Martinez (50-2-2, 28 knockouts) underwent successful surgery to repair ligament damage in his right knee earlier this month, an injury that was suffered during his win over Chavez, who floored him in  the 12th round.

Murray (25-0-1, 11 KOs), who is 30, is coming off his second consecutive victory represented by this past Saturday's sixth-round knockout of Venezuela's Jorge Navarro (12-1, 10 KOs) for the WBA's interim belt.

Murray, who ended Navarro's streak of three consecutive stoppage wins, battled to a disputed draw against then-WBA titleholder Felix Sturm in December of last year.

Martinez has vowed to impress Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, who made "a direct call from Argentina to Spain," said Lewkowicz.

"If Martinez comes out victorious, we'll fight Chavez on Sept. 14. But we never look too far ahead," said Lewkowicz. "Martinez will always remain focused and give the proper respect to his challenger or the guy he is fighting. So we won't talk about Chavez, we'll only talk about Martin Murray."

VLADIMIR BAEZ, VICTOR CAYO CLASH IN ALL-DOMINICAN CLASH

Hammer-fisted junior welterweights Vladimir Baez and Victor "Mermelada" Cayo will clash in a Dec. 17 slugfest that is being promoted by Sampson Boxing and Manguita Promotions at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In the 10-round main event, Baez (17-0, 15 knockouts) will pursue his fifth straight stoppage victory, and Cayo (30-3, 22 KOs), his fourth consecutive knockout since falling by ninth-round stoppage to ex-beltholder Nate Campbell in March.

"I am very excited about this show and look forward to another successful co-promotional venture with Manguita Promotions," said Lewkowicz, president of Sampson Boxing, who will also feature two female title fights on the card.

"I have made it one of my missions to bring world-class boxing to the Dominican, and stars like Javier Fortuna and Victor Cayo, as well as upcoming champions such as Jonathan Guzman, Braulio Rodriguez and Juan Carlos Abreu, are a big part of those plans."

Cayo's three-bout run includes August's third-round knockout of previously unbeaten Julio DeJesus, who entered their fight with a record of 15-0 and 14 knockouts.

In the 10-round co-feature, Dominican Daihana Santana (30-6, 14 KOs) will defend her IBF featherweight belt against Ghanian Helen Joseph (11-1, 6 KOs), of Nigeria.

Also appearing will be IBF junior featherweight beltholder Katy Pamela "La Super Baby" Wilson (16-1, 9 KOs) in her second defense against Maribel Santana (12-10, 5 KOs).

The all-Dominican undercard features junior featherweight Jonathan Guzman (10-0, 10 KOs), junior lightweight Braulio Rodriguez (10-0, 10 KOs), super middleweight Felix Valera (3-0, 3 KOs) and Santo Domingo junior welterweight Juan Carlos Abreu (13-0, 12 KOs) in separate fights.
 
Also on the card are Jackson siblings John Jackson (13-1, 12 KOs) and Julius Jackson (13-0, 9 KOs), as well as junior middleweight Samuel Rogers (11-0, 6 KOs), all of whom are from Virgin Islands. John and Julius are the sons, and Samuel, the nephew, of former middleweight champion Julian "The Hawk" Jackson.

SHOULD ROBERT GUERRERO BE CONSIDERED FOR FIGHTER OF THE YEAR?

Interim WBC welterweight beltholders such as Robert Guerrero may have thrust himself into contention for Fighter of The Year honors.

Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) jumped two weight classes to win consecutive 147-pound bouts over previously unbeaten Selcuk Aydin and two-time titleholder Andre Berto, running his undefeated streak to 15 with nine stoppage wins during that time. 

Guerrero overcame two, former Olympians with a combined record of 51-1, with 39 knockouts in Aydin and Berto. Scores against Aydin were 116-112, twice, and, 117-111, while all three of those against Berto read, 116-110.

"I think that, when you put things in perspective, and you look at how many guys have jumped up two weight classes, the list is very narrow. You take a Sugar Shane Mosley who did it, and you take like a Roy Jones Jr., and that's a Who's Who of guys because it just doesn't happen," said Guerrero's co-manager, Bob Santos.

"To skip a weight class, and to realize that he came in off of a 15-month layoff during which he had shoulder surgery and went right into that weight class and fought two, full-fledged welterweights in their prime? No catchweights? I think what he accomplished this year is second-to-none. I don't think that anybody else in boxing can say that they did what Robert Guerrero did the way that he did it."

Whether or not Guerrero could get his much-desired shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr. has become a major focus for Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer.

"As I said to the media following last Saturday's win by Robert Guerrero over Andre Berto, that I'm going to see if Robert can get that Mayweather fight," said Schaefer during an interview with RingTV.com.

"Robert really wants that Mayweather fight, and so I'm going to see what I can do. I've already started negotiations for the Guerrero fighting Mayweather, so we'll see where it's going to end."

FILIPINO BANTAMWEIGHT GLENN PORRAS MEETS JOSE NIEVES

Gary Shaw Promotions has announced that bantamweight contender Glenn Porras (28-3, 17 KOs), of M'lang, Cotabato (Del Norte) Philippines, will fight Jose Nieves (20-2-3, 9 KOs), of Carolina, Puerto Rico, in a 10-round at the Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida on Dec. 7.

"Porras is on fire as of late, going undefeated since 2008," said Shaw. "He's been fighting at an incredible level over the last four years, and he's ready to make a statement against Nieves. I expect a great performance from him on Dec. 7."

Porras, 27, is riding a 15-fight winning streak that includes 10 knockouts.

"I'm ready to represent my country of the Philippines when I fight for the second time the United States," said Porras. "I feel that my career is about to take off with my promoter Gary Shaw. Together, I know we can go far. I'll be ready for a world title shot in 2013."


ALANTEZ FOX RETURNS TO THE RING ON DEC. 8

Junior middleweight Alantez Fox (7-0-1, 3 KOs), a 6-foot-5 prospect from Forestville, Md., will take on Jimmy LeBlanc (13-22-4, 5 KOs), of Weymouth, Massachusetts, in a scheduled six-rounder on Dec. 8 at The Convention Center in Washington,D.C.

Fox is trained by his father, Troy Fox.
 
"My father knows me best, and we have a great relationship," said Alantez Fox. "Right now, we have a stong belief in one another, and I see us going to the top together."

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

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