Martinez injuries from Murray fight to sideline him til 2014

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, World Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez suffered a cut over his eye, a broken hand and injured knee in his Saturday bout with Martin Murray that will force Martinez to sit out the rest of the yerar.

“He’s probably out for the rest of the year. I just can’t see him returning this year,” said Martinez promoter Lou DiBella. “He probably needs another surgery to remove scar tissue from the knee and he needs more time to rehab it than he gave it after the Chavez fight.”

Although Martinez pronounced himself in perfect health going into the fight with Murray — “All of my injuries have healed 100 percent,” he told ESPN.com a few days before the bout — it turned out they were not.

“He was never fully recovered from the knee surgery,” said DiBella, noting that the injury made it very hard for Martinez to plant his feet. “The knee was OK early in the training camp but it wasn’t perfect. But with three weeks left in camp, it got much worse. He probably would have postponed the fight if was in a normal arena. He was damaged goods going in against Murray.”

“People who noticed his body wasn’t cut were correct,” DiBella said. “It wasn’t a normal camp. Murray was big and strong though and deserves props.”

The 100 percent humidity and a wet canvas hurt and he was also fighting a very good opponent. Martin Murray is a good fighter,” DiBella said. “I was scared sh—— but he pulled it out in the 11th and 12th rounds and Murray said he was hurt in the 12th round.

“Sergio had to use every trick in the book in 11 and 12 to pull it out. The fight had the makings of an upset, but I’m just glad it wasn’t. But he was banged up going into the fight. It was a real gutty performance. In any case, Sergio’s body needs time to recover.”