"I believe that you cannot reach Mayweather. Mayweather will reach you when the time is right. Mayweather and Martinez will sell two million plus on pay-per-view. That is a fact, because you have the angel and the devil. To put the devil and the angel in one show, it would make history. That mix will sell two million plus; it would make history. I believe it will sell out any stadium in less than three minutes. Mayweather is a very smart businessman, and he will never make the money that he will make with Martinez with Pacquiao. This is the reason that, economically, it will never happen with Pacquiao. He has a great team behind him. Nobody thought he would sell 1.3 million buys versus Ortiz, but he did it. What do you think it would be against Martinez, where he has a chance to have a tough fight or lose the fight...You can love Mayweather or you can hate Mayweather, but at the end of the day, he sells tickets and he sells tickets outside of Top Rank. For Bob Arum to say that Martinez is not a ticket seller or a pay-per-view attraction, I will prove to Bob Arum that Martinez can sell pay-per-view with the right challenge. If Mayweather can sell 1.3 million, Martinez will sell the other 700 thousand," stated world-renowned adviser and promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, who shared his thoughts on Sergio Martinez's recent performance, their future plans, and much more. Check it out!
MJ: I'd like to get your thoughts on Sergio Martinez's performance in his last fight.
SL: To me, it was an excellent performance. It showed that he can change the game plan and that, like I said in the press conference, there are no small enemies in boxing. He was a very well-educated Englishman with a well-educated defense. He started to open up his defense after ten rounds. I've said to the press before, all the press wants to be a matchmaker. Their job is not to choose and say it's an easy fight; there's no easy fight in boxing.
MJ: We all saw that with Buster Douglas many years ago.
SL: Nobody gives Martinez the credit that he deserves. He fought with a broken nose from the fourth round, and many champions would not perform like he performed after having a broken nose.
MJ: Was that his first broken nose?
SL: The first time in his career.
MJ: How would you respond to people who have been bashing Sergio's style for having his hands down too much? Some people are commenting about him having a lack of defense and being too easy to hit.
SL: Most of them don't know about boxing. I never put attention on the comments. Maybe you should tell that to Chavez or to Cotto, and maybe you can convince them that it's true.
MJ: I love that response, Sampson! I agree with you. I still think Martinez is top three pound-for-pound in the world.
SL: He did an excellent job, and not too many boxers or champions in that situation would conduct themselves so professionally to the last round, the 11th round. They would get nervous or look for a way out. He responds like a great champion. To me, he's the best pound for pound. I want to see Cotto or any one of the big guys fight this kind of fighter [Darren Barker] and see where he is.
MJ: Martinez doesn't have his next fight booked. Mayweather doesn't have his next fight booked. Are we going to see you reach out to Al Haymon or Leonard Ellerbe and try to make a Mayweather fight?
SL: I believe that you cannot reach Mayweather. Mayweather will reach you when the time is right. Mayweather and Martinez will sell two million plus on pay-per-view. That is a fact, because you have the angel and the devil. To put the devil and the angel in one show, it would make history. That mix will sell two million plus; it would make history. I believe it will sell out any stadium in less than three minutes. Mayweather is a very smart businessman, and he will never make the money that he will make with Martinez with Pacquiao. This is the reason that, economically, it will never happen with Pacquiao. He has a great team behind him. Nobody thought he would sell 1.3 million buys versus Ortiz, but he did it. What do you think it would be against Martinez, where he has a chance to have a tough fight or lose the fight? It will sell 2 million plus and make history, and Mayweather is made to make history.
MJ: Do you think Mayweather is going to fight someone outside of Golden Boy?
SL: Mayweather is his own man.
MJ: My concern is that in recent history, it seems like Pacquiao is only fighting Top Rank fighters and Mayweather is sticking to fighting Golden Boy fighters.
SL: Yeah, but Mayweather is very particular. He will do whatever his team decides. If he decides to fight Martinez, I would imagine Golden Boy would be involved on his side of the promotion.
MJ: I've heard that Sergio would come down to 150 for the fight. Is that the case?
SL: This is what he said for Pacquiao. I would imagine for Mayweather, he'd be in that area. I would say between 150 and 152.
MJ: I just don't see Pacquiao fighting anyone outside of a Top Rank fighter any time soon.
SL: I don't see that Bob Arum will give up any part of his golden goose.
MJ: If Mayweather is not going to fight Pacquiao, the next best fight that can be made is versus Martinez.
SL: Put it this way, Mayweather will never fight Pacquiao. I know it's a fact because Mayweather is a businessman as well as a great champion. Business-wise, the Pacquiao fight would not give him the amount of money he deserves.
MJ: What did you think of how the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight ended?
SL: I believe that Mayweather showed to all the youth in boxing that you need to protect yourself at all times, especially after you do a malicious headbutt. It was with all the intention to hurt the other fighter; he's a coward to do that. He paid the price. You don't do this in boxing; it's the sweet science. It's not to bite the ear or to headbutt and try to hurt the opponent. I'm very disappointed in Ortiz. Maybe he was very emotional, but at the end of the day, Mayweather was right. You can love Mayweather or you can hate Mayweather, but at the end of the day, he sells tickets and he sells tickets outside of Top Rank. For Bob Arum to say that Martinez is not a ticket seller or a pay-per-view attraction, I will prove to Bob Arum that Martinez can sell pay-per-view with the right challenge. If Mayweather can sell 1.3 million, Martinez will sell the other 700 thousand. You know, very soon will be the birthday of Bob Arum, and Martinez and myself will decide to clone Martinez and give it to him.
MJ: If this Mayweather fight doesn't happen, whom else could we see against Martinez? I've heard Jermain Taylor could be a possibility.
SL: We just had a great victory and we'll not mention any names until we have something confirmed, but he's on the list; no question about it.
MJ: I'd guess Taylor and Margarito would be at the top of the list after Floyd.
SL: Margarito would definitely be the frontrunner if he beats Cotto. You don't change the trainer every day, and now he [Cotto] has an obscure trainer.
MJ: What do you think about Tim Bradley being mentioned as Pacquaio's next possible opponent?
SL: Yeah, because he has no chance to win, so there you have it.
MJ: I'm surprised they'd take that fight with the way Tim Bradley cuts fighters with headbutts. I wouldn't think Pacquiao would want to deal with that.
SL: He'd have no chance. He'd be disqualified, or he'd sign a pre-agreement, like in marriage; don't use the head.
MJ: It could be a prenup (laughing). That just surprised me. He could get a cut that recurs for the rest of his career.
SL: That is correct.
MJ: Why take the chance when you can make millions fighting anybody?
SL: Yeah, but Pacquiao has a good team behind him. I don't believe that whatever Bob brings, he will accept. It will have to go through many people before Pacquiao makes the decision. You can tell he has a good team because he's very successful. The champion is not only about the fighter, but also about who surrounds him. He's done an excellent job.
MJ: He's definitely transcended the sport. It's amazing looking back a few years ago and seeing how popular Mayweather and Pacquiao have become.
SL: That's right.
MJ: So who else is out on the horizon? Will we see Martinez stay around 154 to 160?
SL: We're coming up on Halloween, so we may want to scare Canelo Alvarez in case the others don't come. We could go to 154 and be the mandatory for Canelo. I believe we scare all the newcomers of Mexico. If he doesn't scare Chavez, maybe he'll scare Canelo. I will send a nice Halloween costume of Maravilla to each of them. We'll even send one to Cotto, a personal gift for him.
MJ: On another topic, what do you think of the UFC launching a fight card on network tv the same night as the Pacquiao-Marquez fight?
SL: I believe that he [Dana White] wants to interfere with Bob Arum and Top Rank for a personal vendetta. I totally disagree with it and think it's a disgrace on the other side to do that and try to hurt the business by going on the same day.
MJ: How different would boxing be if it had someone like Dana White, who could force fighters to fight the best instead of our sanctioning bodies?
SL: It will never happen; impossible. Thanks to the WBC, worldwide, everyone knows Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez. Thanks to the IBF, everybody knows Manny Pacquiao. The WBO helped Oscar De La Hoya become known worldwide, even though he was a gold medalist. They gave him his first shot at a world title. The same goes for Evander Holyfield and the WBA; they helped Holyfield to be Holyfield. Fighters become significant after getting the opportunity to fight for their titles.
MJ: Floyd Mayweather has always had a special fondness for the WBC title.
SL: The two most loyal fighters for the WBC are Martinez and Mayweather.
MJ: I know it's a different business model, but I guess what I've been most impressed with about the UFC is how they were able to get their feature fights on network television. I've been saying for years that boxing should do it to build the fan base and now UFC has done it.
SL: Maybe they have good people behind them. Most of our promoters are only looking to hurt each other, not help each other. That could be one of the answers, but regardless of what people say, boxing will never die. Always when you think it is down, it goes back up. There are three most popular fighters now: Mayweather, Pacquiao, and Martinez. There will always be somebody tomorrow and there was always somebody yesterday. Nobody will take away boxing; it will be for our children and grandchildren.
MJ: I know you have your future superstars of tomorrow.
SL: I have two, Javier Fortuna and Magomed Abdusalamov, the heavyweight from Russia. He fought on Martinez's undercard. You will hear from them very soon. I have confidence these two prospects will be two more champions for my stable. Both of them are signed with my own company, Sampson Boxing. Finally I've thrown my hat in the ring as a promoter.
MJ: I think you'll do great as a promoter. Do you have any television deals with any stations?
SL: So far, I have a deal with Mexican television and Russian television. I believe that, very soon, the networks will pay attention to my fighters. I believe I have the product.
MJ: Is there anything else you'd like to say to the fans at FightHype.com?
SL: Please don't forget to tell the writers to convince Cotto, Chavez, Canelo, and anyone between 154 and 160 that Martinez has no defense.
MJ: Thank you for the interview, Sampson. It's always a pleasure to talk to you.
SL: Same here. Take care.