Sergio Martinez has admitted he is willing to risk his life and step in the ring with Gennady Golovkin as his middleweight comeback continues.
The Argentinian star conquered Briton Macaulay McGowan last night in Madrid with a one-sided decision victory.
Martinez fought in his fourth outing since returning from a six-year absence in 2020 against Jose Miguel Fandino.
Despite being significantly older than the leading middleweight contenders, Martinez believes he would be able to compete with huge names such as Chris Eubank Jr and Ryota Murata.
“Since I embarked on my comeback, my goal has been to face [Ryota] Murata,” Martinez told The Ring. “But the truth is that I know it can be someone else.
"It could be Chris Eubank Jr., or maybe even Gennadiy Golovkin. Honestly, it motivates me a lot to know that I can face someone like Golovkin and take such a high risk. The fact that I could earn that chance at my age motivates more.
"I know my life would be in danger in a fight like that, but it motivates me to train even harder. We continue with the plan of finding opponents in different levels to climb gradually, but it is becoming very difficult. Here in Spain it is hard and expensive to produce boxing events.
"Opponents ask for purses that sometimes we cannot afford as a company. We try to get better opponents but it is difficult to pay what they want. With the lack of sponsors and media support here in Spain, it is very difficult to bring better opponents.
“But I have to compensate for that. If my opponents don’t improve, then I do. And I have to adapt to the circumstances. I have to make the adjustment to fight better and better regardless of the challenge that my opponents bring to the ring.”
Do you think Gennady Golovkin should ever face Sergio Martinez? Let us know your verdict in the comments section below
Martinez previously reigned as the unified middleweight champion and also won a world title at super-welterweight having defeated the likes of Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker during his career.
However he is unlikely to secure a shot at the leading contenders any time soon, particularly after offering to fight 20 different opponents before agreeing to face McGowan.
Golovkin has been out of action since his routine victory over Kamil Szeremeta and was set to face Murata in a unification bout.
However the bout was shelved after Golovkin was unable to travel due to Japan's increased travel restrictions as a result of coronavirus.
He has now been offered as part of a two-fight deal to Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy bout, which would see him aim to get revenge for his defeat in 2018.
