Jay Harris Ready For His Opportunity of a Lifetime
On February 29 at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Jay Harris (17-0, 9 KOs) goes into his fight against WBC World Flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (15-1, 12 KOs) as a significant underdog. However, for the challenger, he looks forward to the challenge of jumping at the opportunity to become a world champion.
HUNGRY TO CHANGE HIS LIFE
During a sit-down interview with Ring Magazine, the 29-year-old from Swansea explained that a win over Martinez would mean much more than just capturing a world title. Currently juggling boxing along with a full-time job working for Amazon UK, winning would change the course of his life.
“I could maybe quit my job and be a full-time athlete and hopefully get a full-time sponsor on board so I don’t have to worry about going to work or anything like that. Winning the WBC title could potentially change everything for me and my family.”
NOT ONE BIT INTIMIDATED
In 2019, Martinez has emerged into quite the sensation among the lower-ranked divisions, culminating with winning the vacant WBC world 112-pound strap with a 9th round TKO win over Cristofer Rosales on December 20, 2019. Heading into 2020, the fighter known as “El Rey” has been tabbed as a future force.
Harris acknowledges that the champ is very good and can punch, but at the same time notices some flaws in the fighter many are calling the flyweight version of Roberto Duran.
“I don’t want to give too much away. He does a lot of things wrong. His footwork isn’t that good; he’s very static. I don’t want to fight his fight. I don’t want to mix it up with him as the others did. [Andrew] Selby boxed his head off for five rounds until he got caught by that body shot.”
NOW IS THE TIME
Having sparred with the likes of WBA World Super-Flyweight champion Kal Yafai and WBA world Flyweight Artem Dalakian, Harris feels ready to face Martinez. He looks at this fight as the reward for the hard struggles in his career and life up to this point. The incentive is at an all-time high.
“This could be the perfect year for myself and that gives me the belief I can win this fight for my family and to come home and show my two daughters I’ve won a world title. That’s my motivation for this fight.”
Make no mistake about it, this is an extremely daunting task for Harris. Can he take advantage of a golden moment and change the course of his life? When it airs live on DAZN, we will see if the challenger seizes the day and score what would be a massive upset.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
