Martinez dethrones Chavez for WBC title

Sergio Martinez survived a late knockdown to reclaim the World Boxing Council’s middleweight belt on Saturday when he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by a unanimous points decision. Martinez, 37, dominated and was leading comfortably on the judges’ scorecards when he got into trouble in the 12th and final round, and the Argentine had to survive a late onslaught by Chavez as they went toe-to-toe. Chavez knocked Martinez down in the final round but the veteran was able to hang on in front of a sold-out crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center arena in Las Vegas. “He caught me with a good left hook and I lost my balance,” Martinez said. Judges Stanley Christodoulou (117-110), Adalaide Byrd (118-109) and Dave Moretti (118-109) all scored it in favour of Martinez.