BUENOS AIRES – Visiting his native country of Argentina for the first time since losing his title to Miguel Cotto on June 6,^, former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez came short of announcing his retirement in a series of interviews with a local TV network, but hinted at this possibility given the serious nature of the knee injuries that have plagued over the past couple of years.

“My medical studies are done. They are talking about a new surgery on my knee”, said Martinez during an interview on Sportia, a local all-sports news show on the TyC network, in reference to a battery of tests performed recently by on his right knee after the Cotto fight.

Martinez (51-3-2, 28 knockouts) is 39 years old, and he underwent a series of very delicate surgeries and therapeutic procedures to fix his badly damaged right knee, which had accumulated several career-threatening injuries, prior to the Cotto fight.

Martinez had indicated that he would make a decision about the continuity of his career based on these reports, but now he is facing a dilemma based on the outcome of those studies and his desire to leave the sport on a high note.

“If they decide to (perform the surgery), I would have to quit boxing. If not, we can initiate a treatment, which would involve a special preparation and a strengthening of the area that protects the knee. It would be a very intense work, very serious and very difficult to achieve as well. I will then try to compete once again,” said Martinez, hinting at the possibility that even if the treatment has reasonable chances of success, the mere possibility of worsening or reinjuring himself would make him seriously rethink his next few steps.

“I would have to look into the situation, because I still have a life after boxing. I would have to evaluate the possible damages looking towards the future,” said the fighter. “I don’t want to retire after losing a fight. I don’t feel frustrated. Fights are won and lost, even though I was sure I was going to win, as always. If I feel that I can do it, I will come back. If not, I won’t.”

Regarding his performance against Cotto, Martinez had nothing but laudatory remarks about his opponent, and gave no excuses for his devastating loss.

“I didn’t do much worse than usual. I faced a great fighter who connected a terrific punch in the first round, and after the first visit to the canvas everything was uphill for me,” said Martinez.

Martinez is expected to expand on his comments about his future plans on Saturday, when he will host a black tie boxing card in Cordoba under his own promotional banner, Maravilla Boxing, along with Sampson Boxing and local promoter JEB Boxing. The card will be headlined by a junior middleweight bout between John “Dah Rock” Jackson (18-2, 15 KOs) and Carlos “Malevo” Jerez (40-17-3, 1 ND, 18 KOs).