Maravilla. Even At The Top, The Fight Doesn t Stop

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Amanda Whitehead
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1 Maravilla Even At The Top, The Fight Doesn t Stop Synopsis At 37 years-old, time is not on his side. Sergio Maravilla Martinez can drop the world s best boxers with his lightning strikes, floor the most beautiful women with his devastating looks, and has a hard-scrabble immigrant story and work ethic that make him a hero on the Latin streets. But an industry filled with athletes and promoters fighting each other outside the ring has robbed this king of his crown. For the first time in sports, a director, Juan Cadaveira, gained access to the closed doors of boxing the negotiations, TV network issues and the vulnerable physical condition of an aging champion. This unbiased story is a true insider look, following Sergio, the current Middleweight Champion of the World, at what an professional boxer endures, including the physical pain, the politics of the sport, and details why fans don't always see the matches they desire. Stripped of the bravado that surrounds a champion, audiences have never seen a top professional athlete, at their peak, so revealed. Sergio with his movie star good looks, emerged from poorest ghettos of Argentina, was unknown and fought most of his early career in Europe. It wasn't until he came to America, and his career soared, that he became a transcendent star in his native land. What happens along the way, is nothing a king would expect to encounter. The film features interviews and great testimonials by international boxing personalities such as Mike Tyson, Don King, Oscar De La Hoya, Bob Arum, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., his son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and the late WBC president Jose Sulaiman. This is story of a man fighting to fight before it s too late, but the clock is ticking. Summary: Maravilla is an 80-minute character-driven documentary that portrays Sergio in every step of his struggle inside and outside the ring. Embarked on a political and media crusade to regain his middleweight boxing champion title, he faces the heavyweight players of the boxing business: the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the promoter of Julio César Chávez Jr., Bob Arum. Born and raised in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Sergio suffers poverty during his childhood and youth, before becoming an accomplished athlete. He had to face economic exile working undocumented in Europe in the '90s. In these difficult circumstances he still works to achieved his goal - to grab the world middleweight title and the knockout of the year defeating Paul Williams in November But the glory is short-lived. The dark side of the boxing business snatches the

2 title, isolating him. Following this, it becomes Sergio s mission to recover his championship belt working the politics of boxing and using the media to increase his visibility. He must fight the current champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. the privileged son of a Mexican boxing legend, and godson of the president of the WBC. Not surprisingly, Chavez Jr. and his powerful promoter, Bob Arum, keep avoiding the fight, and the WBC does not strip the title from Chavez Jr., as regulations mandate. Is this chess game that is boxing, rigged so that Chavez Jr. will never have to face the one boxer who could knock him off his throne? Director Bio: Juan Pablo Cadaveira is the Director, Writer and Producer of Maravilla. He has over 15 years of experience in production and postproduction, including creative editorial for the PBS series, History Detectives. As well as the feature film Handsome Harry, an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival. His extensive body of work includes documentaries for PBS, Discovery and ESPN. He also produced and edited commercials for major brands and U.S. advertising agencies. Cadaveira studied film production at the University of Buenos Aires, and started out as a cameraman for Argentinean television. In 2003 he moved to N.Y.C., where he proceeded to cut spots for the general market and shows for networks such as PBS, MTV, Discovery Networks and E! Entertainment. Following his love for independent film, he edited Rocket Science, which was acclaimed as an official selection at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Today, with over 20 years experience in production and post-production, he presents, "Maravilla," his first feature film as director, producer and screenwriter. He felt that he had a great story to tell and this film is a realization of that personal challenge. Production Credits: Sergio Maravilla Martinez - himself Lou DiBella - himself Susana Paniagua Hugo Martinez - himself Julio César Chávez Jr. - himself

3 José Sulaiman - himself Bob Arum - himself Pablo Sarmiento - himself Sampson Lewkowicz - himself Larry Merchant (Boxing specialist, ex HBO) - himself Dan Rafael (Boxing journalist, ESPN) - himself Thomas Hauser (Boxing author and journalist) - himself Jeff Powell (Daily News, London) - himself Special appearances: Julio César Chávez Sr. - himself Mike Tyson - himself Don King - himself Oscar De La Hoya - himself Osvaldo Principi - himself Artistic Team: Writer, Director and Producer: Juan Pablo Cadaveira Story Editor: Omar Quiroga Executive Producers: Lou Di Bella, Jamin O Brien Production Consultant: Javier Leoz Co-Producer: Suzanne Richiardone Associate Producers: Nathan Lewkowicz and Devin Giannoni

4 Editors: César Custodio (SAE), Alejandro Brodersohn (SAE), Ernesto Felder (SAE) Original Music: Ruy Folguera Sound Design and Mix: Fernando Soldevila Direction of Photography: Ángel Amoros, Steven Moreno, José Luis R. Cortés Co-Production Company: BK BLU Productions Production Company: Blue Production Co. Production. The first film from director Juan Pablo Cadaveira shows us the exile, the struggle and the vicissitudes that a man like Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez had to go through in order to become the successful and beloved international fighter he is today. The personal stories of the director, Juan Pablo Cadaveira and Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez have many points in common. Both, for different reasons, leave their country and settle in foreign countries where they compete for a professional place where it is twice as hard to establish a reputation and succeed. Maybe this is why the director manages to capture and bring to the audience a sensitivity to Sergio s struggle. The film starts rolling long before "Maravilla" reaches popularity in Argentina. Cadaveira says, "I was not a boxing fan at all, but I saw in Sergio, the story of many Argentines who have succeeded abroad and have not been given the recognition they deserved at home. At the same time, I saw the story of my great-grandparents and many immigrants early in the century who had to migrate from Europe to Argentina to survive. In 2000, history repeats itself but in reverse, with thousands of Argentines who migrate to Europe or the United States in search of their dreams. Sergio s story happens during a particular socioeconomic

5 migration period in Argentina and it reflects the experience of many Argentines. The film reveals how complex the boxing business is in America today. The promoters, boxing organizations and broadcasters create obstacles for "Maravilla" and his team, which they ll have to overcome to get a chance to regain his crown. At age 36, Sergio was running out of time to regain his title of world champion. Despite being the fighter of the year and knockout the year in 2010, the business of boxing marginalized him and the most important boxers dodged him. Sergio was still the underdog despite being considered one of the top best boxers in the world. The film portrays his amazing perseverance and triumph in this decisive moment in his career. The film shows his preparations as an athlete, with interviews of his family, friends and professional team, his inner circle, his colleagues, his dressing room, the tension reflected in his corner in the ring, and even the privacy of his family living in Quilmes, while he fights against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Las Vegas for the Middleweight World Title (WBC). The film production shot over two years in four countries: Argentina, Spain, Mexico and the United States, and in many different cities, from Quilmes to Las Vegas, via New York, Atlantic City, Los Angeles, and Mexico DF. To reach this high quality film, the production filmed over 150 hours of footage, researched and monitored each step of "Maravilla" Martinez s life from 2010 to The film appeals to wide audiences, Juan Pablo Cadaveira shares, "this film is intended for the general public and for even people who know little about boxing and how this business works in the U.S. I think there is a universal story that will appeal to anyone who cares about justice and redemption of the oppressed. By showing Sergio s life history, I hope the audiences connect with both the youthful idealism of Sergio and the suffering he experienced. In fact, anyone who fights for their dreams, against all odds, and far from home can identify with the dramatic rise to the top of Sergio. Sergio's life is an inspiring and dramatic example, but also very important to the history of the sport of boxing. Description of Cast: Name: Sergio Maravilla Martinez Bio: Sergio Maravilla Martinez s nickname can be translated to Marvelous. A native from Argentina, he has built a career as one of top four pound for pound

6 champions in the world. Raised in a family with very little money, Maravilla had all the odds against him. He had fights in Argentina that had little to no pay. After the 2001 economical crisis in Argentina, he made the tough decision to leave his country and move to Spain. In Spain, he trained with Pablo Sarmiento and worked as illegal immigrant in manual jobs to make ends meet. It wasn t until his 2003 fight against Richard Williams that Maravilla started to gain attention. After that, he teamed up with promoter Lou DiBella and adviser Sampson Lewkowicz. He has built a career as being one of the best boxers in the world. He is also known for having many odds against him. At the age of 39, Maravilla continues to fight for everything in his career. Name: Julio César Chávez Jr. Bio: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is the son of the Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez. In 2011, he won WBC middleweight champion, a title that was stripped from Maravilla. After a childhood of watching his father in the ring, Chavez Jr. started his own boxing career at 17 years old. He s won 46 out of 49 fights. Chavez Jr. has being tested positive twice of using illegal drugs after his fights and was suspended by the athletic commission of Nevada. Name: Lou DiBella Bio: The proud promoter of Maravilla, Lou DiBella is the founder of DiBella Entertainment. A Brooklyn native, DiBella studied at Tufts University and Harvard Law School. He is known for his honest and blunt personality. He was the former head of programming for HBO Boxing. Name: Julio César Chávez Sr. Bio: Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. is a living Mexican legend in boxing. He is retired now, but has a career as six-time world champion in three weight divisions. He is the most popular athlete in the history of boxing in Mexico. Name: Mike Tyson Bio: Mike Tyson is a retired and well-known boxer from New York City. He had a career as an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. At just 20 years old, he won heavyweight titles from the WBC, WBA, and IBF. Name: Bob Arum Bio: From New York City, Bob Arum is best known for being Muhammad Ali s promoter. He started a career in boxing in 1965 to eventually become the founder and CEO of Top Rank. Top Rank is the country's premiere boxing promotions company. Arum s career consisted of him being one of the first to harness the power of closed-circuit and pay-per-view models. Right now, he is

7 the most powerful boxing promoter. He s the promoter of some of the most popular boxers including Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, and Chavez Jr. Name: Jose Sulaiman Bio: Jose Sulaiman had a great amount of controversy following his career. As the head of the World Boxing Council (WBC), many journalists claimed he bent the rules in the favor of some boxers and promoters. He started a career as a young boy in Mexico by fighting in small one-minute round to eventually become president of the WBC since Sulaiman is the godfather of Chavez Jr. Name: Thomas Hauser Bio: Thomas Hauser is a respected author and journalist in the world of boxing. He has written 41 books, some of which are on business of boxing. The Boxing Writers Association of America awarded him the Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism in His book Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times won him the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Apart from his writing career in boxing, his book The Execution of Charles Horman: was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Name: Dan Rafael Bio: A full-time boxing correspondent for ESPN, Dan Rafael is one of today s most well-known and respected boxing journalists. He has 87,000 and counting followers on twitter. He is a regular on the ESPN shows SportsCenter and Friday Night Fights. Rafael is known for being a low-key boxing journalist. Name: Larry Merchant Bio: Hall of Fame journalist and former HBO boxing commentator Name: Don King Bio: Don King was one the most powerful boxing promoter in the 1990 s. He has worked with Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Felix Trinidad, and other reputable boxers.

Super fight must happen Oscar

Super fight must happen Oscar Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 12. Pacquiao edged Marquez in a majority decision, stretching his win