Sergio MartÃÂnez vs. Sergiy Dzindziruk, billed as The Threat Is Real, was a professional boxing match contested on March 12, 2011, for The Ring middleweight championship.
Having stripped by the WBC after HBO declined to broadcast a bout between him and "Interim" champion Sebastian Zbik, Sergio MartÃÂnez defended his Lineal and Ring titles on the line against WBO 154 champion, Sergiy Dzindziruk.
MartÃÂnez stopped Sergiy Dzinziruk in the eighth round, knocking down the Ukrainian middleweight five times during the fight, and three times in the 8th/last round. In Round 5, Dzinziruk was knocked down again by a left hand just seconds before the bell rang. He got up smiling, but MartÃÂnez now firmly appeared to be in control of the fight. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the bout at the eighth after MartÃÂnez of Oxnard, California, sent Dzinziruk down for the third time.
MartÃÂnez would next Darren Barker, after new WBC champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Daniel Geale, Miguel Cotto, Andy Lee and Paul Williams, all refused to fight him.
Confirmed bouts: