MARTINEZ-CHAVEZ TICKETS ON SALE THURSDAY

Press Release: World middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., holder of the WBC belt in the same weight class, will wage their long-awaited middleweight battle, Saturday, September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The bout will be shown on HBO Pay-Per-View. Tickets to this world middleweight championship bout will go on sale Thursday, July 12th at 3:00 p.m. ET / Noon PT.  They can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center box office and Town Square Las Vegas Concierge. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.unlvtickets.com.  To charge by telephone call (702) 739-FANS.  

"This is the fight I've always wanted,” said Chávez Jr.  “Martinez has said a lot of bad things. Let's see if he wants to go to the center of the ring and fight like a man."

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to headline a live pay-per-view event in Las Vegas and to be able to take back what is rightfully mine, and that is the WBC middleweight championship belt,” said Martinez.  “We have been working very hard with my team through the years for this moment and I will make sure to leave Las Vegas September 15th as the winner.  Chavez Jr. has shown some improvement in his last fight, but that will not be enough to defeat me September 15th.”

"This is the big fight that the boxing world has been clamoring for such a long time,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.  Julio César Chávez Jr., after his latest victory, is ready to go. He will make all Méxicans proud, just like his father used to do."

“This is one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing, between Julio César Chávez Jr., a terrific young champion and the son of a legend, and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, one of the great pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This is a fight for both middleweight supremacy and pound-for-pound status,” said Martinez promoter Lou DiBella.

“We are pleased to be part of such a monumental match-up between two talented fighters,” said Alex Pariente, executive vice president of international and domestic marketing for Wynn Las Vegas. “The long-anticipated championship fight between Martinez and Chávez on Mexican Independence Day will add to the celebration of the holiday and the history of the storied middleweight title that includes greats such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Tony Zale, Carlos Monzon and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.”

"[This] is one of the premier and most anticipated matchups in boxing today," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "It has all the makings of an extraordinary event -- major league boxing skill in the ring; a spirited rivalry that has simmered for years; the fast-rising new star versus the elite warrior; enthusiastic fan bases; and a celebration of Mexican Independence Day. It will be an evening that every fight fan will want to experience live on HBO Pay-Per-View."

Chávez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KOs), of Culiacán, México, making his first appearance in Las Vegas since 2009, is the son of one of Mexico’s greatest fighters, Julio César Chávez.  The junior Chávez, 26, took up the “family business” in 2003, winning a four-round decision in his professional debut.  He enlisted legendary trainer Freddie Roach to take him to the next level. 

Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs), of Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a consensus Top-Three pound-for-pound fighter, will be making his first appearance in a Las Vegas ring since 2000. He first made his presence known to the boxing world in 2007 by knocking out Saul Roman in the fourth round of their WBC super welterweight title elimination bout.  One year later, Martinez captured the WBC interim super welterweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Alex Bunema. He was elevated to WBC world super welterweight champion in the latter half of 2009.  Martinez captured his second world title in as many divisions, in 2010, moving up in weight to challenge and upset defending middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.  Martinez enters this fight riding a two-year, five-bout winning streak, including knockout victories of Paul Williams, Sergiy Dzinziruk, and Darren Baker.  In his last fight, on St. Patricks’ Day at Madison Square Garden, Martinez stopped Matthew Macklin in the 11th round.