Sergio Martinez came back to boxing after a six-year retirement but admits that his late resurgence could be stopped by a single defeat.
The 46-year-old Argentine, who held world championships in two different weight classes in his first spell as a pro, retired in 2014 after a punishing defeat to Miguel Cotto.
He returned to the ring in August 2020 and has won three consecutive fights, against Miguel Fandino, Jussi Koivula and then Brian Rose.
Martinez is aiming to move up the WBA rankings for a shot at the governing body’s title holder, Ryota Murata.
“Starting the year with a fight, a few weeks after it started, is something that makes me very happy. It excites me a lot. We try, as a team, to sit down and look for opponents who demand even more of me," Martinez said, reported BoxingScene.com.
"I'm one loss away from retirement, and that's my motivation. I don't want to lose, I don't want to retire. I don't want to lose. I want to fight for a world title, I want to win the world championship. I want to fight against the best. This fight, number 60 of my career, is one more that I will have on my professional record.
“I know that everything I'm doing is getting me even closer to the world title. I know that all this work I'm doing is focused on getting to the world title."
Martinez fights Macauley McGowan on January 27 in Madrid.