By Ian S Palmer
Robson Conceicao of Brazil meets unbeaten Xavier Martinez of Sacramento, California in a 10-round junior lightweight battle in Tulsa, Oklahoma this Saturday, January. 29th. The fight can be seen live in America on ESPN+ and ESPN while UK fans can catch it on Sky Sports and those in Canada can see it on TSN 2. Conceicao last fought in September when he dropped a controversial unanimous decision to Oscar Valdez in a shot at his WBC World Title. Martinez was last in action in May when he beat Juan Carlos Burgos via a 10-round unanimous decision.
The 33-year-old Conceicao is best known for his recent tilt against Oscar Valdez and for winning a gold medal at the 2018 Olympics in his homeland as a lightweight. He also competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, England where he was beaten by Josh Taylor in his first contest and fought at the 2008 games in Beijing, China where he was also beaten in his first fight.
He also competed in several World Amateur Championships and dropped a close decision to Vasyl Lomachenko in 2011. Conceicao’s gone 16-1 as a pro since with 8 Kos for a 47.1 per cent knockout ratio. He stands just over 5-feet-10 inches tall with a 70-inch reach and has boxed 93 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016.
Conceicao’s only fight against a legitimate contender as a pro was against Valdez and he arguably should have earned the decision despite being docked a point in the ninth round for hitting the champion behind the head. The Brazilian’s biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Luis Coria, Carlos Ruiz, Edgar Cantu, Joey Laviolette and Eduardo Pereira Dos Reis. He has a decent chin but was dropped in the second round by Coria in 2020 and was deducted two points for low blows.
Martinez is nine years younger as he’s just 24 and enters the contest with a perfect record of 17-0 with 11 Kos. He’s got pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 64.7 per cent but has gone the distance in his last two outings. Martinez stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 70-inch reach which gives him a two-inch height disadvantage against Conceicao.
Since turning pro in 2015 after a brief amateur career, Martinez has boxed 77 rounds with his biggest tests coming against Burgos, Claudio Marrero, Jessie Cris Rosales and Oscar Bravo. Martinez is a fine prospect with good technical skills, a solid chin and enough power to give anybody in the division trouble. However, he’s moving up in class this weekend.
Prediction…
This fight could swing either way but Martinez’s youth could be a big factor as he’s nine years younger. Conceicao held his own against Valdez and has plenty of amateur and pro experience. Conceicao is as tough as they come and has been known to bend the rules at times but this could start out to be a technical battle. This is a tossup to me but I’m going to go with Martinez in a close fight.
