By Ian S Palmer
The vacant WBC Flyweight Championship is at stake in Phoenix, Arizona this Friday, December 20th when Julio Cesar Martinez of Mexico meets former champion Cristofer Rosales of Nicaragua. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN while fans in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports. Rosales last fought in August when he stopped Eliecer Quezada in the seventh round while Martinez stopped WBC Champ Charlie Edwards in three the same month. That fight was ruled a no-contest though as Martinez landed on Edwards while he had a knee on the canvas. Edwards had beaten Rosales by unanimous decision last December to win the title.
The 24-year-old Martinez, who’s also known as Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar, hails from Mexico City and carries a record of 14-1 with 11 Kos to his name. He’s got quite a bit of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 73 per cent and has posted eight straight stoppages. He must regret his action against Edwards in the heat of battle as he had him down and out and would be defending the title for the first time against Rosales this weekend.
Unfortunately there’s no height and reach listed for Martinez so we can’t compare him size-wise to Rosales. He turned pro in 2015 and has boxed just 57 rounds since then with his lone defeat being a four-round split decision to Joaquin Cruz in his pro debut. Martinez then avenged the defeat with an eight-round majority decision the next year. He’s also beaten the likes of former world champion Edgar Sosa as well as Martin Tecuapetla, Andrew Selby, Victor Ruiz and Juan Lopez Martinez.
Rosales is the cousin of roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and a 25-year-old native of Managua who stands just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 76.5-inch reach. He’s boxed 196 rounds since turning pro back in 2013 and steps into the ring with a mark of 29-4 with 20 Kos. Along with losing to Edwards last December he’s also dropped unanimous decisions to Keyvin Lara over four rounds in 2013, to Khalid Yafai in eight rounds in 2015 and a wide 12-round decision to Andrew Selby in 2017. Rosales has a solid chin and decent power with a current knockout ratio of 60.6 per cent.
He won the vacant WBC Flyweight Title in April of 2018 when he stopped Daigo Higa in the ninth round. Haiga came in over weight and the title was on the line for Rosales only. He then defended it against Paddy Barnes with a fifth round stoppage before losing the belt to Edwards last year. Rosales has also beaten the likes of Mohammed Obbadi (WBC International Flyweight Title), Martin Tecuapetla (WBC Latino Flyweight Title), and Sammy Reyes as well as Ulises Martin for the vacant WBA Fedcentro Light Flyweight Title in 2016. He’d also won that title a year earlier along with the Nicaraguan Flyweight Belt.
Prediction…
I give Martinez a slight edge in power and aggression while they both have fine chins. Martinez dominated Edwards in August in his first shot at a world title while Rosales typically struggles against upper echelon boxers. If Martinez handles himself the same way he did against Edwards then he should leave the ring with the belt wrapped around his waist.
