Sergio Martinez announces retirement at age 40

Sergio Martinez is calling it a career.

The longtime lineal middleweight champion hasn't fought since a lopsided defeat to Miguel Cotto last June, and amid nagging knee issues, announced his retirement Saturday during the International Boxing Hall of Fame Banquet of Champions.

"It's time to step aside and continue on to new horizons," Martinez said during part of a speech obtained by Paste BN Sports. "I'm now retired. Thank you very much, hasta la victoria siempre (and to victory always)."

It's only fitting that the 40-year-old Argentine announced his retirement during Hall of Fame weekend, the hallowed ground he is likely to join when he is eligible in 2019. Martinez was a dominant middleweight champion and made six defenses of the middleweight championship he won from Kelly Pavlik in 2010.

Those victories included the 2010 Knockout of the Year against Paul Williams and an HBO pay-per-view bout vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. that Martinez dominated until he suffered a knockdown in Round 12.

"Like millions of boxing fans around the world who have enjoyed watching his spectacular career, everybody at HBO Sports will miss Sergio's professionalism and elite fighting skills," HBO Sports president Ken Hershman said in a statement. "What we will do is celebrate a career that is full of accomplishments by one of the most determined athletes of this generation. Watching Sergio win the lineal world middleweight championship on HBO was a landmark moment in the sport's history.

"More importantly, our respect and admiration for Sergio as an individual is unmeasurable. His decision to be an activist and campaign against bullying is just one example of how he has taken his celebrity and used it as a positive force to make the world a better place. We will be forever grateful to Sergio and his team for allowing HBO to chronicle his remarkable journey to the top of the sport."

"Maravilla" was always a sportsman, happy to give time to the media and one of the most affable personalities in the sport. He didn't begin amateur boxing until the advanced age of 20, and made his pro debut two years later following just 41 unpaid bouts. He got a later start in the sport after pursuing a career as a cyclist, and it took him until the age of 33 to make his HBO debut, a TKO of Alex Bunema.

He was long avoided during his reign atop the sport, and by the time he fought Miguel Cotto in the most high-profile bout of his career, he was a shell of his former self. He was dropped three times in Round 1 and was never was in a fight he ended up losing via TKO 10.

He had broken his left hand and suffered a right knee injury in both wins over Chavez and Martin Murray, two of his final three bouts.

Martinez retires with a record of 51-3-2 with 28 knockouts.