Sergio Martinez, the best fighter in the world not named Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, today was recognized as an honorary member of the storied Argentine soccer club River Plate.

The 37-year-old Martinez, who is the lineal middleweight champion and No. 3-ranked boxer in SI.com’s pound-for-pound ratings, was honored in a ceremony Sunday at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, the club’s home stadium in Buenos Aires.

Dr. Gaston Gallino, River Plate’s president of public relations, presented Martinez with a plaque and a No. 1 shirt with “Maravilla Martinez” printed on the back.

A product of one of Buenos Aires’ toughest barrios, Martinez sought careers in soccer and cycling before taking up boxing at 20. He had been tabbed for a fútbol career as a precocious striker for local club team Claypole during his teenage years, but turned down a contract offer from Club Atlético Los Andes — a decision that perplexed many in a nation where the beautiful game is sacrosanct.

The late-blooming Argentine expat upset Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight championship in April 2010. He is coming off an entertaining 11th-round TKO of Matthew Macklin on St. Patrick’s Day in New York, his fourth consecutive defense of the 160-pound title.

With few big-money challengers at middleweight, Martinez has said he would come all the way down to 150 pounds and settle for pride-swallowing 80-20 split of the purse to make a fight with current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Darren Barker was relentless in the ring against Sergio Martinez. (Andrew Couldridge/ZUMAPRESS.com)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Here are three quick thoughts on Sergio Martinez’s 11th-round knockout of Darren Barker:

1. Barker was a live dog. This was supposed to be a soft touch for Martinez, who over the last two years has run a gauntlet of the top middleweights and junior middleweights in the world. But Barker—who at one point was a 25-to-1 underdog—proved to be much better than advertised. Barker had a brilliant strategy early, utilizing a stiff defense and tagging Martinez with clean shots when he saw an opening. He broke Martinez’s nose with a crisp right hand in the second round and was more than competitive the first half of the fight.

In the second half, however, Martinez dominated. He continued to blast away at Barker’s defense, and by the seventh round many of his shots were slipping through. Martinezoverwhelmed Barker with power shots in the last two rounds (a 33-7 edge) and closed the show with a relentless series of combinations that put Barker down and out.

2. Martinez is, at worst, the third-best fighter in the world. Martinez, according to sources in his camp, was fighting hurt. He battled knee and shoulder problems in the weeks leading up to the fight and spent the last eight rounds wiping a steady stream of blood from his nose. Yet Martinez overcame it all to pick up a spectacular—and, perhaps more importantly, entertaining—win. I’ll buy that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are 1-2 in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings. But Martinez (48-2-2) is firmly entrenched right behind them.

3. Paging, Miguel Cotto. OK, let’s be real: Neither Mayweather or Pacquiao is getting in the ring with Martinez. Moreover, Martinez isn’t jumping up to 168 pounds to fight one of the Super Six participants and isn’t moving to 170-pounds for the winner of Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson. And while Lou DiBella is pushing recently signed Matthew Macklin as an opponent for next year, that’s a fight only a diehard can love.

There is, in my mind, only one truly marketable opponent forMartinez: Cotto. He’s a legitimate pay per view draw and a Martinez fight would sell out Madison Square Garden in a matter of hours. Martinez wants it—he doesn’t like Cotto much and has offered to cough up his purse if he loses to him—but neither Cotto or Bob Arum has shown much interest in making that fight happen. Now, it’s on Martinez and DiBella to make it happen. Poke, prod, insult Cotto, whatever. But he is the one opponent that could conceivably elevate Martinez to the next level.  Get him in the ring, whatever it takes.

– Chris Mannix

Argentine southpaw Sergio Martinez (above) has twice defended the lineal middleweight title since winning it from Kelly Pavlik in April 2010. (AP)

Widely regarded as the world’s No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer after Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, lineal middleweight champion Sergio Martinez returns to action Saturday against England’s Darren Barker in Atlantic City (10 p.m. ET, HBO). SI.com caught up with the 36-year-old Argentine southpaw, who finds himself at an improbable career peak at an age when most fighters are thinking about retirement.

Age started fighting?

20.

What’s your first boxing memory?

Watching Duran vs. Leonard on TV. I was so impressed and excited.

Who’s your favorite all-time fighter?

Muhammad Ali.

What’s the greatest fight you ever saw?

Tyson vs. Holyfield and Leonard vs. Hagler.

Who was the toughest opponent you ever fought?

Kelly Pavlik.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Math.

What’s on your iPod?

System of a Down, Calle 13 and a mixture of Argentine music.

What is your favorite movie?

Midnight Run with Robert De Niro and The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey.

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Sergio Martinez defends his middleweight championship Saturday against England's Darren Barker on HBO. (Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)

NEW YORK — The best pound-for-pound boxer in the world not named Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquaio is middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who returns to action Saturday against England’s Darren Barker at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall (10 p.m. ET, HBO).

The 36-year-old Martinez held an open workout Tuesday at Modell’s Sporting Goods in Times Square, jumping rope, shadowboxing and working the pads with trainer Pablo Sarmiento before as many as 100 boxing fans and curious passers-by walking 42nd St. during lunch hour. Notables in attendance ranged from Kery Davis, senior vice president in charge of programming at HBO, to adult film actress Lisa Ann (of Who’s Naylin’ Paylin? renown).

Martinez captured the WBC and Ring magazine 160-pound titles from Kelly Pavlik in April 2010 and defended them with a savage one-punch knockout of Paul Williams in November — a highlight-reel finish that landed him consensus Fighter and Knockout of the Year honors while propelling him to No. 3 in most pound-for-pound tables.

But despite matinee-idol looks and a compelling backstory — a product of one of Argentina’s toughest barrios, Martinez sought careers in soccer and cycling before taking up boxing at 20 — the late-blooming southpaw’s improbable success has yet to translate to box-office appeal and crossover recognition. (“Is he a UFC guy?” asked one Valley-girl type who wandered in to see what the crowd was for; “No, he’s the middleweight champion of the world,” Martinez promoter Lou DiBella bemusedly corrected.)

Martinez looked sharp throughout the half-hour session and is widely expected to walk through 9-to-1 underdog Barker, who is undefeated but underexperienced. Beyond that, who knows. Before moving from the storefront to sign autographs for the fans downstairs, Martinez expressed interest in boiling down to face either Pacquiao or Mayweather at a catchweight of 150. “At 160 there are no opponents available to me,” he said through translator Sampson Lewkowicz. “I want to prove I’m pound-for-pound the best.” A noble cause, but whether he’ll be able to transcend the moderate fame of a successful boxer depends largely on whether Floyd or Manny steps to the plate in 2012.

– Bryan Armen Graham

As many as 100 boxing fans and curious passers-by watched middleweight champion Sergio Martinez at a public workout Tuesday at the Modell's Sporting Goods in Times Square. (Bryan Armen Graham/SI)