By Jhonny Gonzalez

Sergio 'Maravilla' Martínez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) was forced to give up his WBC middleweight title to move forward with a bout against Ukrainian Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KOs) on March 12 at at Foxwoods in Connecticut. American cable network HBO refused to approve Martinez defending his title against mandatory contender Sebastian Zbik.

After Martinez dropped the belt, Zbik became the full middleweight champion and faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 4. Martinez will look for the winner by the end of the year.

"HBO wants the best for me. We also knew that a fight with Sebastian Zbik is smaller than a bout with Sergiy Dzinziruk. And I agreed to vacate the belt because I know that I'll win it again. I need the opportunity, and I know the World Boxing Council will give me that opportunity and I'll win again," Martinez said.