Sandor Martin on Friday returns against Jose Felix in his first fight since his upset victory over Mikey Garcia. Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs) Date : Friday, April 1 Time : 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in …
Sandor Martin on Friday returns against Jose Felix in his first fight since his upset victory over Mikey Garcia.
Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs)
Date: Friday, April 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Also on the card: Samuel Carmona vs. Joel Cordova, junior bantamweights; Jorgelina Guanini vs. Stevi Levy, junior featherweights
Prediction: Martin UD
Background: Martin took a giant step forward in his career when he defeated four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round bout fought at a catch weight of 145 ponds this past October in Fresno, California, Martin’s first fight outside of Europe. The Spaniard returns to his hometown to face solid, but limited Jose Felix on Friday. Martin, a slick southpaw, has won 10 consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to capable Anthony Yigit in 2017. None was close to the magnitude of the Garcia fight, in which Martin used his skills and athleticism to outbox one of the more respected fighters in the world even though he was fighting above his natural weight. He won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. Still, only the WBO sees fit to rank Martin (at No. 4) at junior welterweight. Of course, Felix is a step down from Garcia. The Mexican, who once fought for an interim world title, is only 4-4 in his last eight fights. That includes a unanimous-decision loss to Tyrone McKenna this past August in Northern Ireland, a fight in which both fighters went down. Felix has been off his feet on many occasions, including five times in a loss to Jonathan Maicelo in 2017. He also was stopped in three rounds by countryman Isaac Cruz in 2018. Felix’s best hope in this fight is his punching power.
Sandor Martin on Friday returns against Jose Felix in his first fight since his upset victory over Mikey Garcia. Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs) Date : Friday, April 1 Time : 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in …
Sandor Martin on Friday returns against Jose Felix in his first fight since his upset victory over Mikey Garcia.
Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs)
Date: Friday, April 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Also on the card: Samuel Carmona vs. Joel Cordova, junior bantamweights; Jorgelina Guanini vs. Stevi Levy, junior featherweights
Prediction: Martin UD
Background: Martin took a giant step forward in his career when he defeated four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round bout fought at a catch weight of 145 ponds this past October in Fresno, California, Martin’s first fight outside of Europe. The Spaniard returns to his hometown to face solid, but limited Jose Felix on Friday. Martin, a slick southpaw, has won 10 consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to capable Anthony Yigit in 2017. None was close to the magnitude of the Garcia fight, in which Martin used his skills and athleticism to outbox one of the more respected fighters in the world even though he was fighting above his natural weight. He won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. Still, only the WBO sees fit to rank Martin (at No. 4) at junior welterweight. Of course, Felix is a step down from Garcia. The Mexican, who once fought for an interim world title, is only 4-4 in his last eight fights. That includes a unanimous-decision loss to Tyrone McKenna this past August in Northern Ireland, a fight in which both fighters went down. Felix has been off his feet on many occasions, including five times in a loss to Jonathan Maicelo in 2017. He also was stopped in three rounds by countryman Isaac Cruz in 2018. Felix’s best hope in this fight is his punching power.
Fight Week: Savannah Marshall in prelude to Claressa Shields showdown, return of Sandor Martin.
FIGHT WEEK
Middleweight champ Savannah Marshall will face Femke Hermans in a prelude to a showdown with Claressa Shields. Also, Sandor Martin will make his return.
Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs)
When: Friday, April 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Also on the card: Samuel Carmona vs. Joel Cordova, junior bantamweights; Jorgelina Guanini vs. Stevi Levy, junior featherweights
Prediction: Martin UD
Background: Martin took a giant step forward in his career when he defeated four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round bout fought at a catch weight of 145 ponds this past October in Fresno, California, Martin’s first fight outside of Europe. The Spaniard returns to his hometown to face solid, but limited Jose Felix on Friday. Martin, a slick southpaw, has won 10 consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to capable Anthony Yigit in 2017. None was close to the magnitude of the Garcia fight, in which Martin used his skills and athleticism to outbox one of the more respected fighters in the world even though he was fighting above his natural weight. He won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. Still, only the WBO sees fit to rank Martin (at No. 4) at junior welterweight. Of course, Felix is a step down from Garcia. The Mexican, who once fought for an interim world title, is only 4-4 in his last eight fights. That includes a unanimous-decision loss to Tyrone McKenna this past August in Northern Ireland, a fight in which both fighters went down. Felix has been off his feet on many occasions, including five times in a loss to Jonathan Maicelo in 2017. He also was stopped in three rounds by countryman Isaac Cruz in 2018. Felix’s best hope in this fight is his punching power.
Time: 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (main event later in show)
Where: Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England
TV/Stream: No TV in U.S. (Sky Sports in U.K.)
Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
Rounds: 10
At stake: Marshall’s WBO title
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: Florian Marku vs. Chris Jenkins, welterweights; Nathan Gorman vs. Scott Alexander, heavyweights
Prediction: Marshall UD
Background: For Marshall, this fight probably is a prelude to a unification showdown with three-belt titleholder Claressa Shields. The Newcastle-area fighter won the vacant WBO 160-pound title by stopping Hannah Rankin in October 2020 and has successfully defended twice, knocking out both Maria Lindberg in April of last year and Lolita Muzeya in October. The two-time Olympian has seven consecutive stoppages, which is unusual because of the two-minute rounds in women’s boxing. If she wins on Saturday, she and Shields are expected to fight one another before the end of the year. Marshall defeated a young Shields in the 2012 World Championships, the American’s only setback as an amateur or pro. The two exchanged words after Shield’s unanimous-decision victory over Emz Kozin on Feb. 5. Hermans had a short reign as a super middleweight titleholder but has not fared as well at middleweight, including wide-decision losses against Alicia Napoleon Espinosa and Shields in title fights. The Belgian fighter has won her last three bouts, including a third-round knockout of novice Lili Jumali last July in Brussels.
Fight Week: Savannah Marshall in prelude to Claressa Shields showdown, return of Sandor Martin.
FIGHT WEEK
Middleweight champ Savannah Marshall will face Femke Hermans in a prelude to a showdown with Claressa Shields. Also, Sandor Martin will make his return.
Sandor Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) vs. Jose Felix (39-5-1, 30 KOs)
When: Friday, April 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Also on the card: Samuel Carmona vs. Joel Cordova, junior bantamweights; Jorgelina Guanini vs. Stevi Levy, junior featherweights
Prediction: Martin UD
Background: Martin took a giant step forward in his career when he defeated four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia by a majority decision in a 10-round bout fought at a catch weight of 145 ponds this past October in Fresno, California, Martin’s first fight outside of Europe. The Spaniard returns to his hometown to face solid, but limited Jose Felix on Friday. Martin, a slick southpaw, has won 10 consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to capable Anthony Yigit in 2017. None was close to the magnitude of the Garcia fight, in which Martin used his skills and athleticism to outbox one of the more respected fighters in the world even though he was fighting above his natural weight. He won by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 95-95, the last of which didn’t reflect what happened in the ring. Still, only the WBO sees fit to rank Martin (at No. 4) at junior welterweight. Of course, Felix is a step down from Garcia. The Mexican, who once fought for an interim world title, is only 4-4 in his last eight fights. That includes a unanimous-decision loss to Tyrone McKenna this past August in Northern Ireland, a fight in which both fighters went down. Felix has been off his feet on many occasions, including five times in a loss to Jonathan Maicelo in 2017. He also was stopped in three rounds by countryman Isaac Cruz in 2018. Felix’s best hope in this fight is his punching power.
Time: 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (main event later in show)
Where: Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England
TV/Stream: No TV in U.S. (Sky Sports in U.K.)
Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
Rounds: 10
At stake: Marshall’s WBO title
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: Florian Marku vs. Chris Jenkins, welterweights; Nathan Gorman vs. Scott Alexander, heavyweights
Prediction: Marshall UD
Background: For Marshall, this fight probably is a prelude to a unification showdown with three-belt titleholder Claressa Shields. The Newcastle-area fighter won the vacant WBO 160-pound title by stopping Hannah Rankin in October 2020 and has successfully defended twice, knocking out both Maria Lindberg in April of last year and Lolita Muzeya in October. The two-time Olympian has seven consecutive stoppages, which is unusual because of the two-minute rounds in women’s boxing. If she wins on Saturday, she and Shields are expected to fight one another before the end of the year. Marshall defeated a young Shields in the 2012 World Championships, the American’s only setback as an amateur or pro. The two exchanged words after Shield’s unanimous-decision victory over Emz Kozin on Feb. 5. Hermans had a short reign as a super middleweight titleholder but has not fared as well at middleweight, including wide-decision losses against Alicia Napoleon Espinosa and Shields in title fights. The Belgian fighter has won her last three bouts, including a third-round knockout of novice Lili Jumali last July in Brussels.
Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson.
Shakur Stevenson has made it impossible to keep him off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.
The gifted junior lightweight has now won major titles in two divisions and we saw what we saw on Saturday, a brilliant performance against a quality opponent in reigning beltholder Jamel Herring.
Stevenson has a combination of speed and ability that might be unrivaled among active fighters. It was certainly too much for the veteran Herring, who was dominated from the opening bell and stopped in the 10th round.
In the process, the winner claimed the WBO 130-pound title and a place among the pound-for-pound best. Stevenson comes in as an Honorable Mention, although our best bet is that the 24-year-old will begin a steady climb.
He replaces Kazuto Ioka, who was an Honorable Mention going into Saturday.
Here’s how the new list looks:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled).
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).
Pound-for-pound: Welcome aboard, Shakur Stevenson.
Shakur Stevenson has made it impossible to keep him off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list.
The gifted junior lightweight has now won major titles in two divisions and we saw what we saw on Saturday, a brilliant performance against a quality opponent in reigning beltholder Jamel Herring.
Stevenson has a combination of speed and ability that might be unrivaled among active fighters. It was certainly too much for the veteran Herring, who was dominated from the opening bell and stopped in the 10th round.
In the process, the winner claimed the WBO 130-pound title and a place among the pound-for-pound best. Stevenson comes in as an Honorable Mention, although our best bet is that the 24-year-old will begin a steady climb.
He replaces Kazuto Ioka, who was an Honorable Mention going into Saturday.
Here’s how the new list looks:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Teofimo Lopez Jr. – Scheduled to defend his lightweight titles against George Kambosos Jr. on Nov. 27 in New York.
Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled).
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).
Mikey Garcia dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after his upset loss to Sandor Martin on Saturday.
Mikey Garcia didn’t look like Mikey Garcia against Sandor Martin last Saturday.
The 33-year-old former four-division titleholder, who had been out of the ring for almost 20 months, was outboxed by the obscure Spaniard en route to losing a stunning majority decision.
That’s two losses in three fights for Garcia, who was shut out by Errol Spence Jr. in March 2019.
As a result, Garcia, No. 11 on the Boxing Junkie list, drops out. He has been replaced by veteran 115-pound titleholder Kazuto Ioka of Japan, who enters as an Honorable Mention.
Here’s how the new list looks:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Teofimo Lopez – Tentatively scheduled to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against George Kambosos as soon as next month but no date has been locked in.
Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled), Kazuto Ioka (in talks to face Jerwin Ancajas in a junior bantamweight title-unification bout in December); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Sor Rungvisai is expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).
Mikey Garcia dropped off Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list after his upset loss to Sandor Martin on Saturday.
Mikey Garcia didn’t look like Mikey Garcia against Sandor Martin last Saturday.
The 33-year-old former four-division titleholder, who had been out of the ring for almost 20 months, was outboxed by the obscure Spaniard en route to losing a stunning majority decision.
That’s two losses in three fights for Garcia, who was shut out by Errol Spence Jr. in March 2019.
As a result, Garcia, No. 11 on the Boxing Junkie list, drops out. He has been replaced by veteran 115-pound titleholder Kazuto Ioka of Japan, who enters as an Honorable Mention.
Here’s how the new list looks:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – Scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 Las Vegas.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to fight Caleb Plant to unify all four major 168-pound titles on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Expected to fight Anthony Joshua a second time but no deal is in place.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Teofimo Lopez – Tentatively scheduled to defend his undisputed lightweight championship against George Kambosos as soon as next month but no date has been locked in.
Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Expected to fight Richard Commey on Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City but the deal hasn’t be finalized.
Juan Francisco Estrada – In talks to defend his WBA and WBA junior bantamweight titles in what would be a third fight against Roman Gonzalez in November.
Gennadiy Golovkin – In talks to fight Ryota Murata in a middleweight title-unification fight on Dec. 28 in Japan.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Josh Taylor – Scheduled to defend his undisputed junior welterweight championship against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Dec. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his light heavyweight titles against Marcus Browne on Dec. 17 in Montreal.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to face Rolando Romero in a lightweight bout on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Mairis Briedis (scheduled to fight Artur Mann on Oct. 16 in Riga, Latvia), Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled), Kazuto Ioka (in talks to face Jerwin Ancajas in a junior bantamweight title-unification bout in December); Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Sor Rungvisai is expected to meet Carlos Cuadras as part of a junior bantamweight tournament but nothing is official), Yordenis Ugas (no fight scheduled) and Oscar Valdez (no fight scheduled).
Good, bad, worse: The Sandor Martin-Mikey Garcia shocker, RIP Tony DeMarco.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
One of the great things about boxing is that a hungry fighter can come out of nowhere and do something special if given an opportunity.
That’s what Sandor Martin of Spain did on Saturday night in Fresno, California, where he outboxed former four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia to win what should’ve been a unanimous decision in a 10-round welterweight bout.
Garcia stalked Martin from the outset but was never able to figure out a way to land punches consistently, as the athletic Spaniard danced out of harm’s way or clinched to avoid inside exchanges. The pound-for-pounder landed only 60 punches, according to CompuBox.
At the same time, Martin countered well and caught Garcia coming in more than enough to catch the attention of the judges. He landed relatively few punches himself – 75 – but he made them count.
It was a winning formula. Two judges gave Martin seven rounds (as did I) while the third judge (Zachary Young) somehow scored it a draw, giving Martin one of the biggest upsets in recent years by a majority decision.
The victory is a career-changer for Martin, who had never faced a fighter of Garcia’s caliber or fought in such a high-profile event. The former kickboxer from Barcelona is now a bona fide title contender, which had been his dream.
There was talk of a rematch but that seems unlikely to me. Martin is a natural 140-pounder who fought Garcia at a catch weight of 145. He’ll probably move back down in weight and target undisputed junior welterweight champ Josh Taylor.
Could Martin beat Taylor? He already proved anything is possible.
***
BAD
Mikey Garcia had a difficult time connecting against Sandor Martin the entire fight. Photo by Matchroom Boxing
Was Garcia rusty? That would be understandable given a layoff of almost 20 months. Was he uninspired? It can be difficult to find motivation when you fight obscure opponents. Was it an off night? That happens.
Or was it worse? Is the best of the 33-year-old Garcia in his past?
I believe Garcia’s poor showing can be attributed to all of the above, although to different degrees.
A long layoff and a lack of fire can produce flat performances, which might be what Garcia experienced. He looked to me like a bored fighter going through the motions, not one battling to earn another shot at a major championship.
If he hopes to regain his status as one of the best in the business, he has to fight as if he were young and hungry to make his mark. Otherwise, he could have more nights like one he endured on Saturday.
And, let’s face it, Garcia probably will never again be the dominating fighter he was at more natural weights of 126, 130 and 135, at which he rolled over the likes of Orlando Salido, Juan Manuel Lopez, Roman Martinez, Juan Carlos Burgos and many more.
A reasonable question: Does he still have enough to win one more major title? I believe he does, particularly if he pursues it at 140 pounds and learned a lesson on Saturday.
***
WORSE
Boxing lost one of the last stars of a golden era when 89-year-old Hall of Famer Tony DeMarco died on Oct. 11.
DeMarco peaked in the 1950s, when the talent pool was deep and fighters first performed on television on a regular basis. DeMarco, Carmen Basilio, Johnny Saxton, Kid Gavilan, Vince Martinez, Wallace Bud Smith and Jimmy Carter were household names at that time and important figures in boxing lore.
DeMarco, whose real name was Leo Liotta, borrowed a friend’s name so he could turn pro at 16 years old (two younger than the required 18) in 1948. He was known as Tony DeMarco thereafter.
He quickly became a fan favorite because of his ferocious style, one in which he was willing to take punches in order to deliver them. And he reached the pinnacle of the sport. The Bostonian knocked out Johnny Saxton in the 14th round to win the world welterweight title in 1955, when there was only one champion per division.
He lost his belt to the great Carmen Basilio in his first defense two months later – and would never win another — but continued to prove that he could compete with anyone.
And a number of his fights are remembered as classics, particularly a brutal, back-and-forth rematch with Basilio – a 12-round knockout victory for the New Yorker – that was the 1955 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year and one of best of the era.
“I didn’t win that night but they said it was the Fight of the Year and some people say it was the Fight of the Century,” DeMarco once told the Boston Globe. “How many guys are part of the Fight of the Year?
Good, bad, worse: The Sandor Martin-Mikey Garcia shocker, RIP Tony DeMarco.
A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
One of the great things about boxing is that a hungry fighter can come out of nowhere and do something special if given an opportunity.
That’s what Sandor Martin of Spain did on Saturday night in Fresno, California, where he outboxed former four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia to win what should’ve been a unanimous decision in a 10-round welterweight bout.
Garcia stalked Martin from the outset but was never able to figure out a way to land punches consistently, as the athletic Spaniard danced out of harm’s way or clinched to avoid inside exchanges. The pound-for-pounder landed only 60 punches, according to CompuBox.
At the same time, Martin countered well and caught Garcia coming in more than enough to catch the attention of the judges. He landed relatively few punches himself – 75 – but he made them count.
It was a winning formula. Two judges gave Martin seven rounds (as did I) while the third judge (Zachary Young) somehow scored it a draw, giving Martin one of the biggest upsets in recent years by a majority decision.
The victory is a career-changer for Martin, who had never faced a fighter of Garcia’s caliber or fought in such a high-profile event. The former kickboxer from Barcelona is now a bona fide title contender, which had been his dream.
There was talk of a rematch but that seems unlikely to me. Martin is a natural 140-pounder who fought Garcia at a catch weight of 145. He’ll probably move back down in weight and target undisputed junior welterweight champ Josh Taylor.
Could Martin beat Taylor? He already proved anything is possible.
***
BAD
Mikey Garcia had a difficult time connecting against Sandor Martin the entire fight. Photo by Matchroom Boxing
Was Garcia rusty? That would be understandable given a layoff of almost 20 months. Was he uninspired? It can be difficult to find motivation when you fight obscure opponents. Was it an off night? That happens.
Or was it worse? Is the best of the 33-year-old Garcia in his past?
I believe Garcia’s poor showing can be attributed to all of the above, although to different degrees.
A long layoff and a lack of fire can produce flat performances, which might be what Garcia experienced. He looked to me like a bored fighter going through the motions, not one battling to earn another shot at a major championship.
If he hopes to regain his status as one of the best in the business, he has to fight as if he were young and hungry to make his mark. Otherwise, he could have more nights like one he endured on Saturday.
And, let’s face it, Garcia probably will never again be the dominating fighter he was at more natural weights of 126, 130 and 135, at which he rolled over the likes of Orlando Salido, Juan Manuel Lopez, Roman Martinez, Juan Carlos Burgos and many more.
A reasonable question: Does he still have enough to win one more major title? I believe he does, particularly if he pursues it at 140 pounds and learned a lesson on Saturday.
***
WORSE
Boxing lost one of the last stars of a golden era when 89-year-old Hall of Famer Tony DeMarco died on Oct. 11.
DeMarco peaked in the 1950s, when the talent pool was deep and fighters first performed on television on a regular basis. DeMarco, Carmen Basilio, Johnny Saxton, Kid Gavilan, Vince Martinez, Wallace Bud Smith and Jimmy Carter were household names at that time and important figures in boxing lore.
DeMarco, whose real name was Leo Liotta, borrowed a friend’s name so he could turn pro at 16 years old (two younger than the required 18) in 1948. He was known as Tony DeMarco thereafter.
He quickly became a fan favorite because of his ferocious style, one in which he was willing to take punches in order to deliver them. And he reached the pinnacle of the sport. The Bostonian knocked out Johnny Saxton in the 14th round to win the world welterweight title in 1955, when there was only one champion per division.
He lost his belt to the great Carmen Basilio in his first defense two months later – and would never win another — but continued to prove that he could compete with anyone.
And a number of his fights are remembered as classics, particularly a brutal, back-and-forth rematch with Basilio – a 12-round knockout victory for the New Yorker – that was the 1955 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year and one of best of the era.
“I didn’t win that night but they said it was the Fight of the Year and some people say it was the Fight of the Century,” DeMarco once told the Boston Globe. “How many guys are part of the Fight of the Year?
