Frank Martin knocked out Jackson Marinez in the final round of a 10-round junior welterweight bout Saturday in San Antonio.
Frank Martin continues his ascent.
The talented lightweight contender received some resistance from late replacement Jackson Marinez but ended matters in the final round of a 10-round junior welterweight fight on the Mark Magsayo-Rey Vargas card Saturday in San Antonio.
Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) outboxed and outworked the surprisingly tough, but slower Marinez (19-3, 7 KOs) for eight-plus rounds. Then things went south quickly for the underdog.
Martin, a southpaw, hurt Marinez with a right hook in the final seconds of Round 9 and put him down with a flurry of punches, punctuated with a big left hand.
Then, in Round 10, Martin went in for the kill. He hurt Marinez with another right hook and followed with a barrage of shots that forced a beaten Marinez to sink to the canvas.
Referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight 30 seconds into the round without counting.
Mark Magsayo vs. Rey Vargas: live updates and results, full coverage.
Mark Magsayo, a 126-pound titleholder, will make his first defense against Rey Vargas this evening (Saturday) at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Showtime.
The Filipino won his belt by outpointing Gary Russell Jr. in January.
In the co-feature, former 122-pound champ Brandon Figueroa is scheduled to face Carlos Castro in a 12-round fight at 126. Also, 140-pound contender Frank Martin faces Jackson Marinez, and 147-prospect Rashidi Ellis takes on Jose Marrufo.
The streamed portion of the card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of all the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Mark Magsayo vs. Rey Vargas: live updates and results, full coverage.
Mark Magsayo, a 126-pound titleholder, will make his first defense against Rey Vargas this evening (Saturday) at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Showtime.
The Filipino won his belt by outpointing Gary Russell Jr. in January.
In the co-feature, former 122-pound champ Brandon Figueroa is scheduled to face Carlos Castro in a 12-round fight at 126. Also, 140-pound contender Frank Martin faces Jackson Marinez, and 147-prospect Rashidi Ellis takes on Jose Marrufo.
The streamed portion of the card begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of all the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Good, bad, worse: Luis Ortiz made a power play at 42 in his KO victory over Charles Martin.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Luis Ortiz has 42-year-old legs and 22-year-old power. We’ll see what he can accomplish under those circumstances.
The Cuban southpaw got up from two knockdowns to stop Charles Martin in the sixth round and remain a relevant heavyweight on New Year’s Day at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Ortiz wasn’t seriously hurt the two times he went down but I wonder whether aging legs played a role in his inability to absorb punches. They just didn’t seem sturdy at times.
The better boxer of the two never strayed from the game plan, though. He continued to fight behind his jab and wait for opportunities to take advantage of his ability to change a fight with one punch.
His chance came in Round 6, when he discombobulated Martin with an overhand left and was able to finish the job moments later.
The victory in what was billed as a title eliminator allowed Ortiz to remain in the thick of the heavyweight mix, although it’s unclear how he might fit in at the moment. Titleholders Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have other plans.
That means Ortiz probably will have to win what would amount to another eliminator, against a heavyweight contender at the level of Andy Ruiz Jr., Joseph Parker, Frank Sanchez and Robert Helenius.
Ortiz still has the ability to be competitive with all of the above and contend for a world title, as he demonstrated on Saturday. That is if his legs cooperate.
BAD
I’ll never forget Emanuel Steward yelling at Wladimir Klitschko to finish off an overmatched, but stubborn Eddie Chambers late in their 2010 fight in Germany.
The late, great trainer knew the value of a knockout in terms of public perception. Fans might admire a fighter who outpoints his opponents. They’ll fall in love with a fighter who ends his fights inside the distance.
Steward would’ve been yelling the same thing at Frank Sanchez on the all-heavyweight Ortiz-Martin card.
Sanchez, a polished boxer, had no trouble with late replacement Christian Hammer. Ortiz’s countryman did more than enough to win the fight, as a shutout decision indicated. He just didn’t do enough to close the show.
He never took the risks, never shifted into another gear, which would’ve been required to stop Hammer (26-9, 16 KOs) give fans something to remember.
I have mixed feelings about Sanchez’s tactics. I acknowledge that Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs) is who he is, an excellent technician whose instinct is to box, not brawl. That style has always worked for him. Why change?
Well, I also agree with Steward. If Sanchez is ever going to be a star, he’s going to have to do more than outpoint his opponents in dull fights.
WORSE
The Viktor Faust-Iago Kiladze fight might’ve been the most memorable bout on the Ortiz-Martin card – for both good and bad reasons.
Faust (9-0, 7 KOs) and Kiladze (27-6-1, 19 KOs) gave viewers as wild a 4 minutes, 44 seconds of fighting as they’ll ever see, as the principals went down a combined five times before Faust, a prospect from Ukraine, won the scheduled eight-round fight by knockout.
That was the good. Everyone loves crazy brawls. The decision to stop the fight and what followed wasn’t as fun.
Referee Samuel Burgos stopped the fight because he didn’t like what he saw from Kiladze, who was on the wrong end of the fifth knockdown. My first thought was, “Nooooooooo! Kiladze isn’t hurt any worse than Faust is!”
However, after I settled down, I could see I was being selfish. I just wanted the fight to continue. Burgos’ job is to assess a fighter’s condition at a given moment. He did that.
There is no defense for Kiladze’s reaction after Burgos’ waved his arms to signal the end of the fight. The enraged fighter hit the ref with a light jab, which undoubtedly will result in a fine and/or suspension.
I understand Kiladze’s frustration. He had a chance to beat a good prospect, which would’ve been a boon to his career. Still, fighters cannot under any circumstances put their hands on officials.
Strange fight.
RABBIT PUNCHES
I never really understood the fuss about Michael Coffie, who lost a decision to Jonathan Rice in a rematch on the Ortiz-Martin card. Coffie (12-2, 9 KOs) is admirable in many respects. The Bronx native is a former Marine who saw action in Afghanistan. He started boxing at an ancient 30 years old yet worked his way into meaningful fights. The problem? He always faced a steep uphill battle to progress beyond journeyman status. And now, after back-to-back losses to Jonathan Rice, he appears to have hit his ceiling. Coffie should take pride in what he was able to accomplish. The odds were against him from the beginning. Meanwhile, Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs) has some ability. He might be able to beat a next-level heavyweight if he takes his training seriously. He came in too heavy for the fight with Coffie. … We saw a special prospect before the pay-per-view portion of the Ortiz-Martin card. Frank Martin (15-0, 11 KOs) appears to have all the tools – both God-given and learned – required for stardom, as he demonstrated in his fourth-round knockout of Romero Duno (24-3, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout. Afterward, Martin, 26, mentioned Devin Haney’s name. It’s probably too early for that type of challenge but I suspect Martin could be competitive with any 135-pounder right now. …
Gerald Washington (20-5-1, 13 KOs) doesn’t give up, as I learned during an interview after he suffered back-to-back knockout losses against Deontay Wilder and Jarrell Miller in 2017. He bristled when I asked him whether he considered retirement, saying, “I’m not a quitter.” I admired that. Thus, I won’t be surprised if the 39-year-old plods on after being stopped by Ali Eren Demirezen (15-1, 12 KOs) on the Ortiz-Martin card. The problem is that he has now lost five of his last seven fights, an unproductive run that might signal that the end is near. … The knockdown in the last round of the Sanchez-Hammer fight was evidence that the use of replay review should be expanded. That wasn’t a knockdown. Fortunately, the mistake was irrelevant given the one-sided scoring in Sanchez’s favor. However, that type of missed call could decide a close fight. Florida officials might want to take that extra step in the interest of fairness and accuracy.
Good, bad, worse: Luis Ortiz made a power play at 42 in his KO victory over Charles Martin.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
Luis Ortiz has 42-year-old legs and 22-year-old power. We’ll see what he can accomplish under those circumstances.
The Cuban southpaw got up from two knockdowns to stop Charles Martin in the sixth round and remain a relevant heavyweight on New Year’s Day at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Ortiz wasn’t seriously hurt the two times he went down but I wonder whether aging legs played a role in his inability to absorb punches. They just didn’t seem sturdy at times.
The better boxer of the two never strayed from the game plan, though. He continued to fight behind his jab and wait for opportunities to take advantage of his ability to change a fight with one punch.
His chance came in Round 6, when he discombobulated Martin with an overhand left and was able to finish the job moments later.
The victory in what was billed as a title eliminator allowed Ortiz to remain in the thick of the heavyweight mix, although it’s unclear how he might fit in at the moment. Titleholders Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have other plans.
That means Ortiz probably will have to win what would amount to another eliminator, against a heavyweight contender at the level of Andy Ruiz Jr., Joseph Parker, Frank Sanchez and Robert Helenius.
Ortiz still has the ability to be competitive with all of the above and contend for a world title, as he demonstrated on Saturday. That is if his legs cooperate.
BAD
I’ll never forget Emanuel Steward yelling at Wladimir Klitschko to finish off an overmatched, but stubborn Eddie Chambers late in their 2010 fight in Germany.
The late, great trainer knew the value of a knockout in terms of public perception. Fans might admire a fighter who outpoints his opponents. They’ll fall in love with a fighter who ends his fights inside the distance.
Steward would’ve been yelling the same thing at Frank Sanchez on the all-heavyweight Ortiz-Martin card.
Sanchez, a polished boxer, had no trouble with late replacement Christian Hammer. Ortiz’s countryman did more than enough to win the fight, as a shutout decision indicated. He just didn’t do enough to close the show.
He never took the risks, never shifted into another gear, which would’ve been required to stop Hammer (26-9, 16 KOs) give fans something to remember.
I have mixed feelings about Sanchez’s tactics. I acknowledge that Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs) is who he is, an excellent technician whose instinct is to box, not brawl. That style has always worked for him. Why change?
Well, I also agree with Steward. If Sanchez is ever going to be a star, he’s going to have to do more than outpoint his opponents in dull fights.
WORSE
The Viktor Faust-Iago Kiladze fight might’ve been the most memorable bout on the Ortiz-Martin card – for both good and bad reasons.
Faust (9-0, 7 KOs) and Kiladze (27-6-1, 19 KOs) gave viewers as wild a 4 minutes, 44 seconds of fighting as they’ll ever see, as the principals went down a combined five times before Faust, a prospect from Ukraine, won the scheduled eight-round fight by knockout.
That was the good. Everyone loves crazy brawls. The decision to stop the fight and what followed wasn’t as fun.
Referee Samuel Burgos stopped the fight because he didn’t like what he saw from Kiladze, who was on the wrong end of the fifth knockdown. My first thought was, “Nooooooooo! Kiladze isn’t hurt any worse than Faust is!”
However, after I settled down, I could see I was being selfish. I just wanted the fight to continue. Burgos’ job is to assess a fighter’s condition at a given moment. He did that.
There is no defense for Kiladze’s reaction after Burgos’ waved his arms to signal the end of the fight. The enraged fighter hit the ref with a light jab, which undoubtedly will result in a fine and/or suspension.
I understand Kiladze’s frustration. He had a chance to beat a good prospect, which would’ve been a boon to his career. Still, fighters cannot under any circumstances put their hands on officials.
Strange fight.
RABBIT PUNCHES
I never really understood the fuss about Michael Coffie, who lost a decision to Jonathan Rice in a rematch on the Ortiz-Martin card. Coffie (12-2, 9 KOs) is admirable in many respects. The Bronx native is a former Marine who saw action in Afghanistan. He started boxing at an ancient 30 years old yet worked his way into meaningful fights. The problem? He always faced a steep uphill battle to progress beyond journeyman status. And now, after back-to-back losses to Jonathan Rice, he appears to have hit his ceiling. Coffie should take pride in what he was able to accomplish. The odds were against him from the beginning. Meanwhile, Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs) has some ability. He might be able to beat a next-level heavyweight if he takes his training seriously. He came in too heavy for the fight with Coffie. … We saw a special prospect before the pay-per-view portion of the Ortiz-Martin card. Frank Martin (15-0, 11 KOs) appears to have all the tools – both God-given and learned – required for stardom, as he demonstrated in his fourth-round knockout of Romero Duno (24-3, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout. Afterward, Martin, 26, mentioned Devin Haney’s name. It’s probably too early for that type of challenge but I suspect Martin could be competitive with any 135-pounder right now. …
Gerald Washington (20-5-1, 13 KOs) doesn’t give up, as I learned during an interview after he suffered back-to-back knockout losses against Deontay Wilder and Jarrell Miller in 2017. He bristled when I asked him whether he considered retirement, saying, “I’m not a quitter.” I admired that. Thus, I won’t be surprised if the 39-year-old plods on after being stopped by Ali Eren Demirezen (15-1, 12 KOs) on the Ortiz-Martin card. The problem is that he has now lost five of his last seven fights, an unproductive run that might signal that the end is near. … The knockdown in the last round of the Sanchez-Hammer fight was evidence that the use of replay review should be expanded. That wasn’t a knockdown. Fortunately, the mistake was irrelevant given the one-sided scoring in Sanchez’s favor. However, that type of missed call could decide a close fight. Florida officials might want to take that extra step in the interest of fairness and accuracy.
For the second straight season, Clemson’s matchup with its in-state rival on the hardwood is in jeopardy. Clemson is slated to host South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday at 8 p.m., but COVID-19 cases within the Gamecocks’ program are …
For the second straight season, Clemson’s matchup with its in-state rival on the hardwood is in jeopardy.
Clemson is slated to host South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday at 8 p.m., but COVID-19 cases within the Gamecocks’ program are still a concern for both sides a little more than 24 hours away from the scheduled tip. Carolina coach Frank Martin announced earlier in the week that six of his players will miss the game because of a combination of injuries and COVID-19, though he didn’t specify how many of those were COVID cases.
On Friday morning, Clemson coach Brad Brownell was hoping the game could still be played. He said he hasn’t spoken directly with Martin but that the schools’ athletic directors had been in communication about the situation.
“It’ll be interesting to see what transpires, but certainly the health of their players is No. 1,” Brownell said. “We’ll see what happens with the game. But would love to get a chance to play. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Martin told local media that his team underwent another round of testing Friday morning to see if any more of his players have tested positive. Carolina is supposed to get the results back between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., which is roughly an hour before the Gamecocks are scheduled to leave Columbia, Martin said.
“God forbid, if we’ve get more positives, then obviously Clemson has to make a decision,” Martin said. “Let’s say we only have eight (players available). Do they still want to play a game with this thing kind of spreading in our locker room, and do we need to get on the bus and go if it continues to spread? That’s it. But the plan is to get on the bus and go.”
It’s a case of deja vu for Clemson and Carolina, which didn’t play their scheduled matchup last season because of COVID-related issues within the Gamecocks’ program. While no final decision has been made yet regarding this year’s meeting, Brownell said it’s “a scary time” not knowing if Saturday’s game and any others on the schedule will once again be affected by COVID-19.
Brownell said he and his coaching staff recently reminded their players to be careful.
“We’ve been OK to date, but now you look around college basketball and you see a lot of cancellations, so you know we’re certainly not anywhere out of the woods,” Brownell said. “This thing might just be getting started here with everyone going indoors.”
