One of the top trainers in boxing, Gabriel Sarmiento will not be in the corner with his man, World Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez when he takes on Sergiy Dzinzurak this Saturday night at The Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“Gabriel won’t be in the corner because of some personal issues,” promoter Lou DiBella said, although he would not say what the particular reasons were. “It’s private, so there’s not much I can say about it. But Gabriel was with Sergio in training camp all the way, so they have worked on everything together.”
Taking over as the head of Martinez’s corner is Pablo Sarmiento, Gabriel’s brother. Pablo Sarmiento is a regular member of Martinez’s training staff and has worked in his corner for several past fights, DiBella said.
“Gabriel was with Sergio through the close of camp [last] Friday,” DiBella said. “We knew about this, but we didn’t feel the need to announce it until we had to. We are comfortable with Pablo. This is not an excuse no matter happens in the fight, and we know this is a very tough fight. Sergio said it will make no difference and that he had the best training camp he has ever had. Both of the Sarmientos were there in camp.”
Said Martinez, the consensus fighter of the year for 2010: “Pablo is from the same school [as Gabriel], so this will be OK. It’s nothing that is a surprise. I am well-trained and ready
