While boxing fans suffered something of a letdown when Juan Francisco Estrada withdrew from his planned trilogy fight with Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, they have been treated to a fine consolation prize. WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez stepped up to make his super flyweight debut and setting up an almost sure-fire Fight of the Year candidate when the two clash Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego (DAZN, 8:30 p.m.).
Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KO) was once heralded by many as the pound-for-pound king before a pair of 2017 losses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Rather than fade away more than 45 fights into his professional career, Gonzalez continued to battle, winning the WBA super flyweight championship two fights later with a February 2020 knockout of Khalid Yafai. After a successful defense against Israel Gonzalez, Chocolatito battled Estrada in March 2021, a rematch of a 2012 bout.
Unlike the first meeting, Estrada got the nod and left with both the WBA and WBC titles, though not without controversy. The general consensus was that Gonzalez deserved the victory but came up on the wrong side of a split decision. While Estrada's withdrawal from the fight, a result of a poor training camp due to lingering effects of COVID-19, has robbed Gonzalez of his chance to right the wrongs perpetrated by the ringside judges, he's in for no less of a challenge against Martinez.
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Martinez (18-1, 14 KO) is an aggressive fighter, wild in his attack and with enough power to crack nearly anyone's chin. His lone career loss came in his professional debut. Since then, Martinez's only stumbles have come in a pair of bouts that ended in a no contest. In 2019, Martinez blew through Charlie Edwards in his first shot at a world title only to have the fight ruled a no contest due to landing a shot on Edwards after he was already down on a knee.
One fight later, Martinez won that same WBC flyweight title by knocking out Cristofer Rosales. After three successful title defenses, Martinez battled McWilliams Arroyo in Martinez's most recent fight. The wild bout saw both Martinez and Arroyo hit the canvas before an accidental clash of heads led to the fight being declared a no contest in the third round.
After the rocky performance against Arroyo, Martinez chose to take on the challenge of heading north to super flyweight and facing one of the men who helped define the modern era of the lighter weight classes. It's the kind of challenge fans and media ask of boxers but see taken up so rarely.
However, nearly all of this build up was undone on Friday when Martinez failed to make weight on both attempts on the scale. The two sides agreed to go forward with the bout, but Martinez was required to be on weight on Saturday -- no more than 126.5 pounds -- during a same-day weigh-in before the fight. Martinez came in well under that at 122.8 to make the fight official. Martinez weighed 117 pounds on Friday and was unable to cut the extra two pounds to get under the super flyweight limit.
The undercard fills out with Mauricio Lara taking on Emilio Sanchez at featherweight. Lara, the 24-year-old native of Mexico, returns to the ring after his stunning knockout of Josh Warrington in February 2021, which was followed by a draw in the rematch after an accidental clash of heads in the second round. Lara has 16 knockouts in 23 pro wins. Plus, Angel Fierro returns to take on Juan Carlos Burgos in a lightweight contest.
Below is the complete fight card before we get to a pick and prediction on the main event.
Gonzalez vs. Martinez card, odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
| Favorite | Underdog | Weight class |
|---|---|---|
Roman Gonzalez -135 | Julio Cesar Martinez +115 | Super flyweight |
Mauricio Lara -1100 | Emilio Sanchez +700 | Featherweight |
Angel Fierro -575 | Juan Carlos Burgos +425 | Lightweight |
Souleymane Cissokho -2000 | Roberto Valenzuela Jr. +1000 | Super welterweight |
Prediction
While Martinez is a capable fighter with a wild style and serious pop, the Arroyo fight is a bit alarming. Arroyo is a very similar fighter to Gonzalez stylistically, except that where Arroyo is very good, Gonzalez is exceptional. Gonzalez is not big for super flyweight so Martinez won't be battling a big size disadvantage. Still, Martinez's attack is wild enough that Gonzalez's technical attack can likely dominate the fight. If Arroyo could put Martinez down, it's hard to imagine that Gonzalez can't do the same while exploiting the openings Martinez leaves while winging wide hooks. However the fight plays out, it's almost certainly going to be a thrilling watch while it lasts. Pick: Roman Gonzalez via TKO6
