Former middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez is poised to return to boxing after a six-year absence.

Martinez - whose professional record stands at 51 wins, three defeats and two draws - claimed standout wins over Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr as he reigned for more than four years in the 160-pound division.

A punishing 10-round loss in June 2014 to Puerto Rican great Miguel Cotto, who dropped Martinez three times in the opening round, appeared to herald the end of a decorated career.

However, the Argentine southpaw is set to lace up his gloves again in Madrid on June 6, going up against an unnamed opponent.

Martinez will be 45 years old by the time the bout takes place, but he told The Ring: "I need it, I want to do this comeback.

“[I want to] check my feelings in the ring and feel the punches again. Then, we will see.

"Boxing is my life. Everything was wrong in my last fight against Cotto: training camp, the injuries, my knee.

"Now I am feeling really good and my knees are better. All these years of rest were very good for my knees and elbows."

Martinez revealed his comeback has been a long time in the making, claiming a planned rematch against Chavez fell through in November 2018.

"I was training to do the rematch against Chavez but he let me down at the last minute," 'Maravilla' said of an opponent he comprehensively outboxed for 11 rounds before being forced to hang on amid a knockdown in the 12th when they met in Las Vegas in 2012.

"Since then I've been training for a fight. None of the big names want to face me and that is why I will make a comeback in a small show in Spain.

"We don't have too much of a budget but, for sure, the opponent will be a tough one."