Joeshon James answered the big question – how would he respond from a knockout in his first career loss? – affirmatively, if not all that convincingly, Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
James won a majority decision over Yojanler Martinez in a wild, wonky eight-round fight featuring momentum swings, point deductions and even a double knockdown at War Memorial Auditorium. Scores were 77-73, 75-75 and 77-74 in favor of James.
James got off early, establishing distance and his jab, and within the first minute he caught Martinez with a left hook while he was throwing one of his own. It was a flash knockdown but counted nonetheless.
In the second, James stayed on his jab, but this time Martinez was able to connect with his hook, prompting James to hold on. Too eager to free himself for a follow-up, Martinez clubbed at the back of James’ head more than once and was docked a point by referee Tyrone Parker. Although Martinez was suddenly flashing the faster hands and snappier punches, he had already dug himself an early hole.
James got busy again in the third, dictating pace and thrusting his jab while Martinez looked for openings. Wildly, they both found one inside the round’s final minute, each throwing a right hand and knocking the other to the canvas. Double knockdown. James took the bigger shot but was almost instantly back on his feet. Martinez writhed, rolled over and nearly stumbled into Parker while trying to right himself.
Parker checked James, who was clear-headed and keen to take advantage of the moment. Parker then turned to Martinez, but when the referee seemed to think James was rushing his process, he tried to send him to a neutral corner. James didn’t retreat to Parker’s liking, so he delayed further, admonishing James before turning back to Martinez. It looked for all the world like Martinez was ready to go in that moment, but by the time Parker had finished his work, the moment had passed. James tried to lay it on Martinez over the final few seconds, but the bell rang to end the threat.
Refreshed in the fourth, Martinez landed several hard body shots and a nasty right hand upstairs early. James continued to press forward, pushing out his jab and using his length to control distance – even if Martinez was the fighter landing the sharper punches.
Oddly, though, Martinez showed zero urgency over the ensuing rounds. James had slowed as well, but Martinez’s early deficit on the scorecard coupled with his success when he did let his hands go felt like an enormous missed opportunity.
For his part, James was workmanlike but did little to separate himself down the stretch. According to punch stats, he threw twice as many total punches as Martinez in the fight (530-267) but landed only a handful more than his opponent (99-88).
James, from Sacramento, California, more or less bounced back from his knockout loss to Lester Martinez in March to move to 11-1-2 (5 KOs). Martinez, a Las Vegas resident originally from Camaguey, Cuba, dropped to 5-1-1 (2 KOs).
Coming off his first career loss, Mykquan Williams rediscovered his form and dismantled George Rodriguez Pardo in a one-sided fifth-round stoppage in their junior welterweight matchup.
Williams mostly controlled the first round with his jab before opening up and showing off his skill set – a hook, body punches and sharp combinations – in the second. Pardo took it all well, but he was finding no answers. With just inside a minute left in the round, Pardo inexplicably took a knee – then sprung from the canvas to throw a combination Williams’ way. Pardo was nonplussed when referee Michael DeJesus ruled a knockdown, but there was no denying it was the correct call.
In the third, Williams staggered Pardo with a jab-left hook combination early, then closed brilliantly by snapping his head back with an uppercut, landing a clean right hand and thudding several shots to the body that visibly stung Pardo.
Williams continued to break down Pardo in the fourth, attacking tactically, patiently, in short bursts rather than relentless waves. Pardo would land an occasional jab or short, glancing right hand, but Williams evaded most of his offense and frequently made him pay for letting his hands go with counter shots. By the time Pardo was on his stool between Rounds 4 and 5, his corner had seen enough, throwing in the towel to end the fight.
Williams, a 27-year-old from East Hartford, Connecticut, climbed to 23-1-2 (12 KOs) with the win, while Pardo – a late replacement from Bogota, Colombia – slipped to 11-6 (9 KOs).
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
