Lester Martinez can thank all his trainers for his climb up the ladder of the super middleweight division.
It also includes one of the best fighters in the world today.
Martinez, rated No. 8 by The Ring at 168 poundswill face Joeshon James tonight at the Whitesands (aka the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round bout will headline a four-bout card that will also stream live on the ProBox TV YouTube page and its app (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
The 28-year-old (18-0, 15 knockouts), who lives in Guatemala City, Guatemala, has improved his skills through many factors, including being trained by Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, Esau Dieguez and Red Spikes. All three train newly crowned WBA world junior middleweight and former two-time undisputed champion Terence Crawford.
Martinez also had the opportunity to spar with Crawford recently. A few months ago, a photo circulated through social media of the two sparring in a ring at a Las Vegas-area gym. Crawford also took it upon himself to work the gloves with Martinez, adding even more elements to Martinez’s game to compliment his power.
“Every trainer has a different variation or style that they work with me during a session,” Martinez told The Ring on Sunday. “One will work with me remotely, another will work with me on how to use pressure during certain parts of a fight. One will also work on lateral movement, and later that day another trainer will work with me to throw various combinations. Another trainer will work with me to throw compact jabs on the inside, followed by throwing a variation of combinations. It helped me a lot. I learned a lot from each of them.”
“After the Madrimov fight, Terence spends time in the gym. There are times when he picks up the gloves and he helps me with my combos. It’s a great luxury to have someone like him work with me or to watch me train and offer his point of view, whether it’s on shadow boxing or with throwing combinations. He helped me and I learned a lot from him. He demonstrates why he is a champion.”
Tonight’s showdown against James is a compelling battle between two undefeated fighters. James (9-0-2, 5 KOs), who lives in Sacramento, has faced six undefeated fighters so far in his career. Within a 13-month period, James faced undefeated fighters, scoring knockout victories over prospects Richard Brewart and David Stevens.
In his last fight on February 16, James defeated gatekeeper Vaughn Alexander by unanimous decision.
Martinez was later rumored to face Bektemir Melikuziev, also rated in the Top 10 by The Ring, in a clash of hard-hitting super middleweights. Despite this, Martinez focused on James and the task at hand.
“I know he’s going to come and fight,” said Martinez, who stopped Ricardo Mayorga in his pro debut in April 2019. “I know he has less fights as a pro than me, but he’s still dangerous. I expect him to be at his best when he steps into the ring with me.”
In his last fight on June 28, Martinez scored a one-sided and impressive victory over contender Carlos Gongora. The win over Gongora solidified Martinez’s position in the division and allowed him to reach the Top 10 in The Ring ratings.
“It wasn’t easy,” Martinez said. “It may have seemed that way, but it wasn’t. Winners are made in the gym. Sometimes I was frustrated in the fight because I was hitting him, and he wouldn’t go down. It was a team effort, we worked hard as a team and we were able to beat a top fighter in Gongora.”
Martinez also has knockout wins over Lucas de Abreu and once-beaten Isaiah Steen.
Should he defeat James, Martinez believes he is ready to challenge the upper echelons of the division. Martinez believes that his activity, the way he has beaten very good opposition, and having an excellent stable of trainers puts him in a position to win.
“It’s very difficult. Fighters say they want to step up and face the best, but I’ve shown that I’m ready. Whenever and wherever, I would like to face the best. That includes (Ring Champion) Canelo (Alvarez), (Caleb) Plant, (Edgar) Berlanga, (David) Benavidez. Anything can happen, but I want those big fights.”
Martinez hopes to one day make history and become the first fighter from Guatemala to win a world title belt. Despite being die-hard soccer fans, many people are taking note of Martinez and his rise in the sport.
His aggressive style and knockout power have drawn fans in Guatemala, the United States and abroad to Martinez, who is grateful for the support.
“I have been in the sport for 16 years and I have seen the sport grow in Guatemala. I feel honored to be a part of it, and to see boxing events become more common in the country.
“As far as I know, I have fans in Guatemala who support me. Boxing fans in the United States approached me well. Mexicans who are boxing fans also follow my career. I’ve even had people as far away as Ireland reaching out to me about my style too.
“I appreciate the support and I’m grateful for where I am in my career. I am very motivated to continue putting Guatemala on the boxing map.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)
