Rib Injury Forces Christy Martin Off “Relentless” Card

LAS VEGAS, NEV (March 3, 2011) – WBC female super welterweight champion CHRISTY MARTIN suffered a severe training injury and has been forced to withdraw from her rematch against Dakota Stone.  Martin-Stone II was scheduled to open the

SHOWTIME PPV® broadcast of “Relentless” – headlined by the MIGUEL COTTO vs.

Ricardo Mayorga WBA super welterweight championship – Saturday, March 12, at the MGM Grand.  A replacement bout will be announced on Friday.

“Christy had a CT scan which revealed a fresh fracture of the fifth rib,” said Dr. Robert Voy, Las Vegas.

“In sparring about a week ago I got hit with a hard punch to the left side, in the ribs. It was a good punch and it got me real good,” said Martin. “For the next few days I tried wrapping that area but there was still pain when I tried to spar.”

Miguel Diaz, Martin’s trainer, made the decision to withdraw from the fight.

“Christy was injured while sparring. She is not a complainer, but I knew she was in a lot of pain,” said Diaz.  “I couldn’t live with myself if anything bad happened to her during a fight so we made a decision to tell the Top Rank about this.”

The MIGUEL COTTO  vs. RICARDO MAYORGA WBA super welterweight world championship headlines “Relentless” — the four-bout pay-per-view extravaganza — on Saturday, March 12, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.  “Relentless” will also feature the return of former WBA super welterweight champion and future rabbi

YURI FOREMAN, who will be taking on Top-10 contender Pawel Wolak; and IBF lightweight champion MIGUEL VAZQUEZ defending his title against undefeated mandatory challenger Lenny Zappavigna.

“Relentless: Cotto vs. Mayorga” will be promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cotto Promotions, Don King Productions, Tecate and MGM Grand, and produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Remaining tickets, priced at $400, $300, $200, $100, and $50, not including applicable service charges, can be purchased at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino.) 

Ticket sales are limited to 16 per person.  To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000.  Tickets are also available for

purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.