LOS ANGELES – There was a secret plan in place in September, for Terence Crawford to win the undisputed super-middleweight title over Canelo Alvarez, to retire, and yield the belts to his successor, stablemate Lester Martinez.
Martinez’s 10-round draw against Canada’s Christian Mbilli threw a wrinkle in the plot, as Mbilli has since replaced Crawford as WBC champion and landed a first title defense versus Alvarez in September in Saudi Arabia.
But the secrets are now officially out of the bag.
The ever-punching Guatemalan Martinez, 19-0-1 (13 KOs), looks every bit like a breakout performer, and the plot thickens Saturday night when he seeks to secure his position as next up for the Mbilli-Alvarez winner while fighting Immanuwel Aleem, 22-3-3 (14 KOs), in the main event of ProBoxTV’s card at the sold-out National Orange Show in San Bernardino, California.
“I have a lot to win. I have a lot to lose,” Martinez, 30, told BoxingScene Wednesday at his media workout.
The entertainment value and scope of Martinez’s bout with Mbilli – awarded the WBC fight of the year while being staged at the NFL’s massive Allegiant Stadium under Crawford-Alvarez – brings him to say he “of course,” needs to win convincingly Saturday to tighten the screws on his now fully exposed ambition.
Not only will Martinez become the first Guatemalan to become a world champion in victory, he will greatly enhance his opportunity to fight for the full title.
While Mbilli seemed to dodge talk of a Martinez rematch before Crawford’s December retirement, Alvarez has been torched for keeping his younger, stronger former mandatory opponent David Benavidez on ice.
Knowing that, ProBoxTV owner Garry Jonas campaigned for the WBC to designate Saturday’s bout for the interim belt.
Jonas, who also owns BoxingScene, said Wednesday that he is additionally planning an August 28 fight for Martinez in the Los Angeles area to maintain his fighter’s relevance in the weeks before Alvarez versus Mbilli.
“Lester has a great promoter. Garry don’t sit on his hands, don’t wait for nobody, so I’m sure if we get to a point where it looks like they might try to freeze [Martinez] out, Garry’s going to come up with something, just like now,” Martinez [and Crawford] trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre told BoxingScene.
Martinez fully grasps his rising importance.
“After the last fight, my fans expect a lot from me,” he said.”Regardless of how I win, I want to do well. I know after this fight I will be the official challenger to Canelo-Mbilli, so I promise to do my best.
“We know what’s at stake. I’m well prepared. I’m fighting a guy with a lot of experience. I have a lot of experience myself and I’m ready to win.
“Being fight of the year implies a lot. We did a good job, despite the outcome. All the positives I got from that, I’m ready for Saturday night. Whether Aleem brings it or not, I’m ready to bring my all.”
It’s that “will,” as McIntyre describes it, that separates Martinez from so many others.
“He always had that, even in the amateurs,” McIntyre said. “He has that will that he wants to make it.”
It’s will topped by relentlessness in the ring, as the fading Mbilli discovered in the later rounds, leaving many to profess victory would’ve been Martinez’s if the bout had lasted 12 rounds.
The Aleem fight is scheduled for 12 rounds, testing the theory that no man is up to lasting 36 minutes of fighting with the brawling Martinez.
“I definitely feel that way. He’s relentless. If he added a little pizazz with that, training with these brothers all the time, we’ll see some good shit in there,” McIntyre cracked.
At Wednesday’s workout, for instance, members of the crew were urging Martinez to shorten his camera-op session in order to avoid traffic through five Southern California freeways to the news conference. Martinez didn’t balk. He demanded a draining session that would force him to sweat.
That act is rooted not only in his culture, but in why so many predict his future title position.
Asked how the acclaim and the sellout have changed him, Martinez insists they haven’t.
“I’m very happy to see the [ticket-sales support],” he said. “When I see my countrymen out there, I want to give it my all. My life is still the same after the last fight. My fan base has kept growing. All the fans, the friendship, the good vibes. They’ve brought a lot of benefits to my life.”
And unlike Benavidez, whose team goaded Alvarez and may have sealed their fate and move to reign at light-heavyweight, Martinez has maintained a respectful stance and spewed no sour grapes toward the veteran four-division champion from Mexico, along with Mbilli.
“[Mbilli] is the full champion and has plans to fight Canelo in September and I think he deserves it,” Martinez said. “He wants to be fully prepared for Canelo. It will be a great fight, whoever wins.
“And I’m going to win Saturday.”
If the secret replacement strategy escaped Martinez, McIntyre recalled the lengthy avoidance of Crawford by former three-belt champion Errol Spence Jnr, a brutal Spence loss followed by the convincing triumph over the three-divisions-higher Alvarez.
“The longer they wait, the worse off they’ll make it,” McIntyre said. “Trust me.
“Like I told the boxing world before, the longer you sit on him, the worse it’s going to be for whoever gets in the ring with him. You heard me say that before, about three or four years ago. Now, we’re here again … the longer you wait, the more he learns, the hungrier he gets.
“You better be careful.”
