By Ian S Palmer
WBC Flyweight Champion Julio Cesar Martinez of Mexico defends his title against Ronal Batista of Panama this Saturday, May 6th. The 12-rounder from Mexico is on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder showdown and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Martinez last fought in December when he beat Samuel Carmona via a majority decision. Batista was last in the ring in December as well when he stopped Jose Cordero after four rounds.
The 28-year-old Martinez stopped former champion Cristofer Rosales in the ninth round in December, 2019 to win his flyweight belt and beat Jay Harris by unanimous decision in his first defence three months later before stopping Moises Calleros in the second round in October, 2020 and Joel Cordova in six rounds in June, 2021. He then faced McWiliams Arroyo in November, 2021 but after Arroyo was dropped in the first and second rounds and Martinez was down in round one, the fight was stopped in the third and ruled a no-contest after Arroyo was nailed with an accidental headbutt.
After that, Martinez stepped up in weight to fight Roman Gonzalez in March, 2023 but actually came in too heavy and wasn’t able to win the vacant WBC Diamond Super Flyweight Title and was dominated by ‘Chocolatito’ in the fight. Martinez originally believed he won his flyweight title in August, 2019 when he stopped WBC Champ Charlie Edwards in three rounds. However, that fight was eventually ruled a no-contest also as Martinez landed on Edwards while he had a knee on the canvas.
After all that, Martinez now carries around an official record of 19-2 with 14 Ko’s. He stands 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and has pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 61 per cent and posted nine straight stoppages until Jay Harris took him the distance in 2020 and has gone the distance in his last two outings. Martinez made his pro debut in 2015 and has boxed 112 rounds since. His first defeat was a four-round split decision to Joaquin Cruz in his pro debut which was avenged 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.
Batista enters the ring with a record of 15-2 with 9 Ko’s but he’s basically an unknown 26-year-old who has fought just once as a pro outside of Panama. He’s boxed 96 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 and measures 5-feet-4-inches in height but has an unlisted reach. Therefore he’s two inches taller than the champions. He also has decent power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 53 per cent.
Batista’s first pro loss came at the hands of Leosdan Nunez in 2017 when he was stopped in the fourth round. His second defeat was to Mikhail Aloyan in December, 2019 when he travelled to Russia and lost a 12-round unanimous decision in a shot at the vacant WBA Gold World Super Flyweight Title after being dropped in the first round. He did manage to win the vacant IBA Super Flyweight Title in 2018 when he stopped Antonio Guzman in the ninth round.
Prediction…
Martinez was pretty much dominated by Roman Gonzalez last year but he bounced back with his win over Carmona. Still, he hasn’t really fought up to his potential lately and will need to make sure he’s ready for Batista, can make weight and doesn’t underestimate him. As long as he’s well prepared, i’m expecting Martinez to come out on top.
