Julio Cesar Martinez Perseveres In Tough Fight Against Joel Cordova
WBC flyweight champion “El Rey” Julio Cesar Martinez (17-1, 13ko) made the third defense of his title against friend and little-known challenger Joel “El Trino” Cordova (12-4-2, 3ko) in front of hometown fans in Mexico.
Cordova has a chance of lifetime fighting and possibly winning the WBC championship. However, his defeats come to the hands of much lesser fighters than Martinez. He will have some fans in attendance, and maybe they will push him to a different level.
Martinez is the main attraction in this showcase fight being promoted by Mexican mega-star Saul Alvarez’s Canelo Promotions banner. The WBC champion is viewed as the future of the division. The question that has been floating around is will he move up to fight unified super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada or unify with a champion from his division?
THE CHALLENGER CAME TO FIGHT
The crowd was all cheering for the entrance of the WBC champion. However, this did not phase Cordova as he came out fighting like a junkyard dog.
Cordova was landing hard counter right hooks and body shots that had the champion off balance. He even stunned Martinez with a double left hook to the body and a double right hook to the top of the head.
The champ would have moments landing a lead left hook upstairs and hard punches to the body. But it was starting to look like he was waiting to land one big punch.
Cordova was looking to seize the moment in this fight taking and giving as good as he was getting. His awkward style was making the champion pause at times, giving him a chance to land more counter-right hooks.
In the sixth round, sensing the fight may be close, Martinez pounced on Cordova landing two sensational hard left hooks. The challenger went down hard. His is legs were not stable after getting up and he could not avoid the barrage of hooks from the champion before the referee jumped in to stop it.
Martinez jumped up on the ropes as the crowd cheered with satisfaction. Although some may question the stoppage by the referee, it was clear the end was inevitable.
During the post-fight interview, the champ made it clear he will stay in the division and seek a unification next.
By: Garrisson Bland
