By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Terrell Gausha, a former 2012 U.S. Olympian from Cleveland, Ohio, will be taking on Steve Martinez of the Bronx, New York this Saturday, August 27th in a 10-round junior middleweight matchup at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight is a part of the ongoing Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series and can be seen live in the USA and Canada on Spike TV. Gausha last fought in April when he beat Orlando Lora by a seventh-round stoppage. Martinez’s last bout took place last December and he stopped Jorge Melendez in the second round.
The 28-year-old Gausha will enter the ring with a perfect record of 18-0 with 9 Kos to his name. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 71 inches. Gausha turned pro back in 2012 and has boxed 91 rounds since then. However, he’s been moved along at a slow to steady rate and hasn’t really faced anybody of note as of yet other than perhaps Charles Whittaker, Luis Grajeda and Eliezer Gonzalez. Gausha, who is a former Golden Gloves and National Champion but was eliminated at the 2012 Olympics after two bouts, has pretty good power in his fists with his current knockout ratio standing at 50 per cent.
The 26-year-old Martinez climbs through the ropes with a record of 16-2 along with 13 Kos. He’s known as a knockout artist at the moment and has a knockout ratio of 72 per cent. Martinez turned pro back in 2009 and has gone just 68 rounds since. Like Gausha, Martinez hasn’t faced any top opposition as of yet. His two losses came at the hands of Christopher Pearson by 10-round unanimous decision in December of 2014 and Denis Douglin by eight-round split decision in January of 2012. Martinez has a two-inch reach advantage over Gausha as he’s 6-feet-tall, but his reach is unlisted.
Martinez appears to have the edge in power, and both boxers have pretty good chins, so this could go the distance unless the step up in class poses a problem for Martinez. Gausha is the more polished of the two and has more experience due to his amateur career. He’s also faced better opposition as a pro, even though he hasn’t taken on a Grade A boxer up to now. This bout is probably a better test for Martinez than it is for Gausha and it could be entertaining enough for the fans.
Prediction…
Martinez is used to stopping his opponents, but that might not be possible with Gausha. If Gausha can handle Martinez’s power then the fight sways to his advantage. Martinez’s slight height advantage probably won’t mean much in this contest and it looks like Gausha’s experience will lead him to a decision victory with a stoppage being a remote possibility.
