The leading candidate is England's Martin Murray (24-0-1, 10 KOs), whose draw came in a world title bout against then-middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm in December 2011. Murray would have to win a fight he has scheduled to remain in contention. He is slated to face Jorge Navarro for a vacant interim belt on Nov. 24 in Manchester, England on the undercard of former junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton's return from retirement against former welterweight titleholder Vyacheslav Senchenko.
"Martin Murray is the desired opponent, as long as he wins his upcoming fight," Lou DiBella, Martinez's promoter, told ESPN. "There's a huge competitive thing between Argentina and the Brits."
Also under consideration, Lewkowicz said, are Jose Miguel Torres (26-5, 23 KOs) of Colombia, former European champion Kerry Hope (17-4, 1 KO) of Wales, and Italy's Domenico Spada (36-4, 18 KOs).