TAKING THE LEAD
pound-for-pound consideration. His 8-1-1 record in junior bantamweight title bouts included wins over Francisco Rodriguez, Donnie Nietes, Joshua Franco and Kosei Tanaka. A title unification involving his WBA belt and Martinez’s IBF trinket in Japan was widely seen as the absent line in Ioka’s pound-for-pound membership application form. But there was a missing piece in this seemingly perfect puzzle. Martinez is a throwback to the golden age of great Argentine flyweights: aggressive, talented, always in shape and throwing punches nonstop. And the comparisons with predecessors such as Pascual Perez and Horacio Accavallo don’t end there. Those two legends were the first two boxing champions in Argentine history, and both of them (as well as a third, the brilliant Nicolino Locche) earned their titles in mild upsets in Japan. Martinez, talented as he is, dug for additional mojo in the inspiration of being an Argentine junior bantamweight facing a local hero in the Land of the Rising Sun. And he delivered in style. In a brilliant tactical and physical fight, Martinez piled up points early and closed the deal with enough strength to score the biggest win in his career thus far, earning a direct rematch in the process. Stunned by the loss in his homeland, Ioka trained hard for a career-defining second fight, but Martinez hit a bump in the road when he showed up in Japan with flu-like symptoms that never receded, and the fight had to be called off. A few months later, the postponed bout finally took place. This time, Martinez was more cautious and Ioka much more conscious of the challenge in front of him. The fight was considerably closer than the first one, but Martinez managed to emerge victorious despite being floored in Round 10. The win put him on his path to a unification bout with one of the most
formidable active fighters in the world. “With Ioka, we mixed it up because none of us wanted to give an inch,” said Martinez. “With Bam, something similar may happen, but I believe he will want to put together a more technical performance. But if he stands his ground and fights, then we’ll meet him there.” “I adapt to any situation but always like being the one who applies the pressure.” Most analysts will agree that this is easier said than done, especially against a fighter with such a similar style and who is rapidly outgrowing the division, both in terms of talent and physical frame. Rodriguez didn’t simply roll up to this challenge by happenstance. Both fighters started their careers with great expectations after very solid amateur careers. There is an 18% difference in knockout ratios (50% for Martinez, 68% for Rodriguez) but Rodriguez had four more bouts against less-than-stellar opposition earlier in his career while Martinez appeared to jump right into the deep end of the pool – and abroad, to boot. The nine-year age gap between them (25 for Bam, 34 for Martinez) is significant, but so is the youth vs. experience factor: Martinez is 7-0 in fights abroad while this will be Rodriguez’s first major fight on foreign soil (three of his first four pro fights were in Mexico), which always carries its own set of challenges. Martinez sees advantages in other variables that may not be accounted for in stats. And he hopes to make the most out of those. “Bam is fast, has great timing and knows how to capitalize on other
fighters’ mistakes,” said Martinez. “But he also leaves those spaces and stands still for longer than he should. Stylistically we are different. He likes to wait and work in spurts. I am more constant. I go all in and keep the pressure on all the time. I think this will be my biggest advantage.” A native of La Boca, one of Buenos Aires’ most iconic neighborhoods, Martinez keeps his old training habits intact. He routinely trains in the upper floor of the local fire station and jogs early in the morning in the scenic Lezama Park only a few blocks away from his childhood home. But he quickly dispels the notion that staying surrounded by family could affect his concentration. “Our weight is going great; we’re handling it right. I am strong, full of energy, and I know I will make the weight,” claimed Martinez. “This time, we did a lot of things differently. We did some more specific work to achieve more strength and speed, watching our recovery time and focusing on the details suited specifically for the opponent. We had a more complete training camp than ever, and we are only thinking about winning.” With his last six fights taking place outside of Argentina, Martinez knows that a big win could put him on a path to a homecoming bout in the near future, and that’s always a huge motivation for him. He is a huge fan of the fabled Boca Juniors soccer team, having grown up in the shadow of their massive stadium, La Bombonera. Having a triumphant return to his homeland to defend his belts in that venerable venue is a lifelong goal for Martinez, part of a family of over a dozen siblings living in the near-squalor conditions of the old “conventillos,” the huge boarding houses where Italian immigrants huddled together in small rooms as they streamed off the boats. The multi-colored wood-and-tin homes in the area are a reminder of those times, when workers built their houses with the scrap wood they could salvage
T ango dancing famously requires the presence of two performers to take place. The overused comparison sits only behind gladiator and bullfighting metaphors in describing the drama of two boxers clashing in the ring. Each analogy has its place in human confrontation, but the significance of tango is that one party always leads and the other one follows. And Fernando Martinez knows quite well what role he plays in the cruel dance of the squared circle. “I adapt to any situation but always like being the one who applies the pressure,” said Martinez, 34, during a halt in his training for his next fight. “I never ran away from a good war.” The current WBA junior bantamweight titlist will be facing Ring/WBC/WBO champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez as part of the Ring IV card on November 22 in Riyadh,
Martinez carries the confidence of an unbeaten world titleholder.
and a war is exactly what is expected. Wars are what Martinez has provided in most of his 18 career bouts so far, but especially in the five title clashes he’s seen. It took a warlike performance to wrest the IBF belt from long-reigning Filipino titleholder Jerwin Ancajas back in 2022. Facing a once-beaten champ attempting to make the 11th defense of his belt in Las Vegas was considered a bridge too far for a fighter with a 13-0 record and only a couple of fights outside of Argentina. There were low expectations for Martinez. His complete dominance in winning a wide unanimous decision was a surprise even to the most seasoned observers and left no doubts about his talent and potential. As clear as his victory was, the shock of the upset reverberated loudly enough to warrant a rematch seven and a half months later. Martinez reasserted
himself with an even more definitive win on the scorecards, setting the stage for his next title defense. With national pride on the line, another Filipino fighter stepped up to avenge the fallen champion. But with Martinez’s confidence exploding while hitting his stride in the division, unbeaten challenger Jade Bornea was no match for the newly crowned titleholder and succumbed after 11 rounds of action. Those performances led Martinez to his next challenge, this time in Japan. Much like Ancajas before him, Kazuto Ioka was also a formidable foe with over 30 fights to his credit and an ample resume as a four-division titleholder who enjoyed perennial
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