On facing Sergei Dzinziruk: “I don’t want easy fights – this year I want to be recognized as the best fighter pound for pound and since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao won’t face me, Sergei Dzinziruk is the best challenge for me right now. Dzinziruk is a gifted technical fighter. He’s an intelligent counter puncher, so I know he will come to box intelligently and wait for me to make a mistake.”
“Dzinziruk is a great fighter that the public does not know. Unfortunately, the public will not see the best Dzinziruk on March 12 because I’m coming to win in the best manner, which is by knockout. I think I’ll dictate the pace of this fight because I’m the champion and also the better fighter. I’m punching so hard in training camp that I think it’s likely I’ll win by knockout.”
On Dzinziruk saying that there is nothing special about Martinez: “I’m surprised he said that, I think I have something [special]. I hope that he’s overconfident, because if he is, he’ll be surprised on March 12th. This training camp has probably been the best and hardest of my career. I’m sparring with both current and former world champions, one of which is former two time world champion Daniel Santos.”
On his difficulty in finding opponents: “It’s a shame that it’s so hard for me to find opponents in my weight class, although I take it as a compliment because it is a result of how well I’ve performed in the ring. If Miguel Cotto and I both win on March 12, I think a fight with Cotto would be great for us, for the fans, and for boxing later this year.”
