Julio Cesar Martinez’s First Step To Mainstream Stardom
Matchroom Boxing has announced that Julio Cesar Martinez (16-1, 12 KOs) will make his second defense of the WBC World Flyweight title on August 15 against mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo (20-4, 15 KOs). For the defending champ, this is step one towards bigger and better fights down the road.
“I am so happy to be back in the ring again and I promise you another war on August 15. With the unification fights ahead of me, it is important to take care of my mandatory challengers and I expect a tough fight with Arroyo. I believe 2020 and 2021 will see me unify and become undisputed and I can’t wait to put a smile back on boxing fans’ faces”.
THE ROAD TO SMALLER-WEIGHT SUPERSTARDOM
There are big plans in store for the fighter known as “El Rey”. Team Martinez has previously stated that their goal is for Martinez to become the undisputed flyweight champion. Following that, he would move up to the Jr. Bantamweight division and tackle the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, and Kosei Tanaka.
It was reported within various circles that Martinez’s next fight would be a flyweight unification bout against WBA World Flyweight champion Artem Dalakian on the same August 15 date in China. Given that the WBC champion had to settle for Arroyo, it’s a sign the grizzled vet was unwilling to accept a step-aside fee to make Martinez – Dalakian a possibility right now.
Be that as it may, what’s on the line for Martinez is very clear. His camp sees him as potentially a special fighter; even possibly a mainstream attraction, which hasn’t been the case for a smaller-weight fighter from Mexico since the 1990s and the days of unified Jr. Flyweight world champion Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez and former unified Strawweight/ Jr. Flyweight world champ Ricardo Lopez. So win in on August 15, and it’s the kick-start to what they feel is a path to greatness.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
