Olympic silver medalist Yuberjen Martinez will take his first pro fight outside of his home country on May 22 when he faces Angel Bethancourt in a 10-round flyweight bout in Panama City, Panama.
The bout, which will be contested for the WBO Latino flyweight title, headlines an All Star Boxing card at the Event Center Atheyna Bylon and will air on ESPN Knockout.
Martinez, 6-0 (6 KOs), has yet to go the distance in his pro career, which began in 2022 but has seen interruptions as he split time between the pro ranks and his spot on the Colombian national team. The peak of his career came in 2016, when he became the only Colombian boxer to earn silver at the Summer Olympics. After falling short of qualifying for his third straight Olympics run in 2024, the flyweight who is rated no. 8 by the WBO at 112lbs will return to the ring for the first time since last October.
“This is the next step for me,” said Martinez, 34, of Turbo, Colombia. “I’m excited to be back in the ring in Panama City. During my amateur days I traveled a lot with the Olympic team, so fighting outside of Colombia doesn’t phase me. I now have a great team behind me and I’m confident I can become Colombia’s next world champion.”
Bethancourt, 24, of San Miguelito, Panama, has a record of 8-0-1 (5 KOs), and is fighting for the first time since his lone draw, an eight-rounder against Gerardo Sanchez last September. He underlined his relative inexperience at the world level, stating “I’m not much of a talker outside the ring. I let my fists do the talking.”
While Martinez has already made history in Colombian boxing, he has a chance to add more after linking up with promoter Turo Zabala Jnr, whose family has promoted former Colombian pro champions Miguel "Happy" Lora, Sugar Baby Rojas and Carlos Maussa.
“The Zabala family legacy in Colombia is unmatched,” Zabala said. “I have a lot of love for this country. Yuberjen has his hands full on May 22, but we hope this challenge brings out the best in him.”
