Julio Cesar Martinez Beats Angelino Cordova to Remain Champ
WBC flyweight champion “El Rey” Julio Cesar Martinez (21-3, 15KO) retained the title via majority decision over Angelino “Huracan” Cordova (18-1-1, 12KO).
The challenger started the fight boxing smart, behind the jab and landing good combination. He couldn’t miss with the right hand as the WBC champion was looking to land one shot.
In round three, El Rey dropped the Venezuelan twice with two power jabs. He would build off that momentum over the next couple of rounds, stalking Huracan, landing hard hooks and right hands to the body.
It broke down into a brawl as Cordova successfully landed left hooks and straight right hands. Yet, Martinez’s pressure was beginning to wear down the challenger. Plus, he landed several hard shots that hurt Huracan several times in the middle rounds.
Both fighters suffered cuts from taking punches as Cordova took advantage of the champion’s low punch output. He landed hard, quick combinations and showed better defense by avoiding those wild shots from Martinez.
Realizing he had lost momentum, El Rey pounded the gloves together and went on a relentless all-out assault in the final two rounds. Cordova’s corner made a critical mistake in telling their fighter he was winning. This led to him boxing in retreat mode instead of attacking.
In the end, one judge scored it a draw (113-113), overruled by the other two judges that saw it 114-112 in favor of the Martinez.
