Román Martínez (boxer)

Román Martínez
Martínez in 2008
Born (1983-01-31) January 31, 1983 (age 40)
Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
Other namesRocky
Statistics
Weight(s)Super featherweight
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Reach67 in (170 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights37
Wins30
Wins by KO18
Losses4
Draws3

Román "Rocky" Martínez (born January 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is a former WBO junior lightweight champion, having held the title three times between 2009 and 2016.

Professional career

Lightweight

Early career

On December 22, 2001, Martinez began his professional career, beating fellow Puerto Rican Wilfredo Ramos with a fourth round knockout on the undercard of a bill headed by Irving Garcia in Manatí, Puerto Rico. After defeating Ricky Piedra by knockout, he won his first decision against Israel Galarza. During the next year, Martínez defeated Richard Boyd, Adisone Sengaroun and Joe Johnson by knockout and Israel Coraliz by unanimous decision, before scoring the first draw of his career against Jose Leonardo Cruz. After six months of inactivity, he returned to action on April 23, 2004, defeating Celestino Rodriguez by technical knockout. Martínez fought once more in 2004, defeating Johnny Walker by unanimous decision. On January 27, 2005, he fought Mario Lacey, defeating him by knockout after scoring three knockdowns in the fourth round. After defeating Derrick Moon by unanimous decision, Martínez fought to ten rounds for the first time in his career, defeating Jose Luis Soto Karass by unanimous decision. This fight was followed by eleven months of inactivity, when he returned to action by defeating Wilfredo Vargas by technical knockout in three rounds.

Super featherweight

On November 17, 2006, Martínez fought in the super featherweight division for the first time, defeating Baudel Cárdenas by technical decision in the tenth round. With this victory, he won the vacant WBO Latino super featherweight title, a regional championship sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization. Three months later he competed for his second professional championship against Francisco Lorenzo. Martínez won the contest by split decision and received the WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title. After defeating Genaro Trazancos by technical knockout in a non-title fight, he participated in a unification match against Daniel Jimenez. Martínez won by knockout in the twelfth and final round, retaining the Inter-Continental super featherweight title and winning the WBO NABO super featherweight championship.

On February 23, 2008, he defended the first of these titles against Jose Anibal Cruz, winning by technical knockout in the third round. This was followed by a preparatory fight against Cristian Favela in the lightweight division, which he won by unanimous decision, with scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91. On August 30, 2008, Martínez defended the NABO super featherweight title against Santos Benavides, winning the contest by technical knockout in the sixth round. He entered this fight ranked third in the WBO and expected to receive a championship opportunity against then-champion Alex Arthur if he won.

Martinez vs. Cook

On September 9, 2008, Nicky Cook defeated Arthur and inherited Martínez as his first contender. A fight between both pugilists was scheduled for March 14, 2009, as part of a card organized in Manchester, England. Early in the fight, Cook began his offensive by throwing jabs. Martínez responded by approaching his opponent to fight inside. Both connected solid body punches in the first two rounds. Cook closed the second stanza by injuring Martínez with a left hook, which he followed with a combination before the bell. During the third, they continued exchanging body punches, displaying tentative behavior throughout the period. In the fourth round, Martínez scored a knockdown, which was quickly followed by a hook that left Cook partially unconscious. The referee intervened immediately, awarding Martínez a technical knockout victory and his first world championship.

Martinez vs. Viloria, Munguia

In his first defense, Martínez competed against Feider Viloria. The first stages of the fight were slow, being used as study rounds by both pugilists. In the second round, Martínez began pursuing the offensive, forcing Viloria to employ a defensive strategy. This continued during the following chapter, when a previous injury re-opened under the challenger’s right eye. In the fifth round, both boxers traded combinations, with Martínez scoring the best punches. Viloria countered by employing multiple combinations during the following chapter, winning the round. Consequently, Martínez was more aggressive during the latter part of the fight. In the ninth round, he scored a combination that left Viloria unconscious, winning the contest by knockout.

On May 29, 2010, Martínez made his second defense after eight months of inactivity. His opponent was Gonzalo Munguía of Nicaragua. The contest opened with Gonzalo Munguía, who was physically stronger pursuing direct exchanges, while Martínez employed an uncommon strategy of technical sidestepping and counterattacks. During the second, Munguía employed his offensive to the body, but received a left hook that staggered him to close the round. The following round opened with both boxers exchanging, Martínez was able to gain control after thirty seconds. Munguía lowered his offensive output in the fourth round leaving openings in his defense. Martínez was able to exploit this, scoring a knockdown. Munguía was unable to stand up before the referee’s protective count concluded and the contest was stopped by knockout.

Martinez vs. Burns

On September 4, 2010, Martinez travelled to the United Kingdom to defend his WBO title against Scottish contender Ricky Burns (28-2, 7 KO). Martinez suffered his first professional defeat and dethroned of his world title in Glasgow as Burns emerged victorious after a 12-round decision. Martinez knocked Burns down in the opening round, but Burns rebounded from this as the judges scored it 115-112 (twice) and 115-113.

Following his defeat, Martinez took 11 months out of the ring and returned in October 2011. He defeated 32 year old fringe contender Daniel Attah in Puerto Rico. The fight ended in round 6. Attah was knocked down in round 3 and twice in round 6. At the time of stoppage, the fight was still close as the judges had it 49-45, 48-46, 47-47, although had round 6 finished, it would have widened the gap being a 10-7 round for Martinez.

Martinez vs. Beltran

On September 15, 2012, at the Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A., Martinez defeated Mexican contender Miguel Beltran, Jr. to win the vacant WBO super featherweight title for a second time. Ricky Burns had vacated the title to move up to the lightweight division. The fight end as a split decision 2-1: judges Clark Sammartino and Duane Ford voted 114-113 for Martinez, and judge Lisa Giampa 116-111 for Beltrán, Jr. Martinez and Beltran both employed heavy offensive weapons. Beltran found a lot of success with his right hand, and Martinez seemed to put punches together better in combination. Neither did major body work, but Beltran had the advantage there with a strong left hook.

Martinez vs. Burgos, Magdaleno

In his first defence of his second title reign, Martinez fought former featherweight world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 2013. At the time of the fight, Martinez entered as the #3 super featherweight contender in the world according to The Ring Magazine. Burgos was ranked the #7 contender. The fight ended in a majority draw. Judge Tony Paolillo had it 116-112 for Martinez, judge Waleska Roldan had it 111-117 in favour of Burgos while the third judge John Signorile scored it a 114-114 even.

Although many routed for a rematch between Martinez and Burgos, some having Burgos a clear winner, Martinez travelled to Macau to fight at the Cotai Arena against undefeated challenger Diego Magdaleno (23-0, 9 KOs) on April 6. Martinez knocked down Magdaleno once in round 4 which helped earn him a split decision after 12 rounds with scores of (114-113, 115-112, and 111-116).

Martinez vs. Garcia

On August 1, 2013, the WBO ordered Martínez to make a mandatory defence against Mikey Garcia. On September 9, the date of the purse bid, a deal was set for the fight to take place on November 9 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Martinez knocked Garcia down in the second round with a counter right hand. Martinez could not press his early advantage and Garcia recovered and dominated the rest of the fight. A heavy Garcia left hook to the body in the eighth round left Martinez floored and unable to get up before the referee counted to ten. Garcia landed nearly half of his total 127 power punches. This included 52 punches landed in the last three rounds compared to 8 landed by Martínez.

Just like his first professional loss, Martinez took 11 months off after losing his world title to Garcia. Martinez returned to the ring in December 2014 in his home country of Puerto Rico. He fought 26 year old journeyman Herbert Quartey. The fight was ended in round 2 as Quartey was knocked down and out.

Martinez vs. Salido I & II

Martinez challenged WBO super featherweight champion Orlando Salido on April 11, 2015, at the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Salido came into this fight with a perfect record of (5-0, 4 KO's) against Puerto Rican fighters. Martinez defeated Salido by a 12-round unanimous decision when the judges scored the fight 114-111, 115-110 and 116-109. Martinez dropped Salido in rounds 3 and 5 and Salido lost one point for low blows in round 11, which didn't help the outcome. Martinez claimed the title for the third time.

A rematch was confirmed for September 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on the undercard of Mayweather vs. Berto. Martinez retained his world title by split decision draw in the rematch with Salido. In what many believed was a win for Salido as he threw over 1000 punches landing 285 compared to Martinez who landed 189 from 691 thrown. The three official judges scored the bout (113-115, 115-113 & 114-114).

Martinez vs. Lomachenko

It was announced that Martinez would defend his WBO title against accomplished Ukrainian boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko on June 11, 2016, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Lomachenko was the current WBO featherweight champion and was moving up in weight looking to become a two-weight world champion. Lomachenko outboxed and outclassed Martinez for four rounds, landing left hands and right hooks, using his footwork to keep the range he wanted at all times. Lomachenko knocked out Martinez with a big right hook in the fifth round becoming a two-division world champion in his seventh pro fight.

Inactivity

According to TMZ Sports in early July 2017, it was reported that Gervonta Davis would feature in the co-main event of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor on August 26, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. On July 29, The Ring Magazine reported that Davis would likely defend his IBF title against former WBO champion Martínez. On August 10, Ringtv reported that Davis would instead fight unbeaten prospect Francisco Fonseca (19-0-1, 13 KOs), who at the time was ranked number 7 by the IBF. According to some sources, the potential fight with Martínez was dropped due to notice and Martínez would not have had enough time to make the 130 pound limit.

Professional boxing record

37 fights 30 wins 4 losses
By knockout 18 3
By decision 12 1
Draws 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
37 Loss 30–4–3 Yuriorkis Gamboa KO 2 (10), 2:00 Jul 27, 2019 Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
36 Win 30–3–3 William Gonzalez TKO 8 (10), 1:03 Mar 29, 2019 Cancha Ruben Zayas Montanez, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
35 Loss 29–3–3 Vasiliy Lomachenko KO 5 (12), 1:09 Jun 11, 2016 The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Lost WBO super featherweight title
34 Draw 29–2–3 Orlando Salido SD 12 Sep 12, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBO super featherweight title
33 Win 29–2–2 Orlando Salido UD 12 Apr 11, 2015 José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico Won WBO super featherweight title
32 Win 28–2–2 Herbert Quartey KO 2 (10), 2:33 Dec 20, 2014 El San Juan Resort & Casino, Carolina, Puerto Rico
31 Loss 27–2–2 Mikey Garcia KO 8 (12), 0:56 Nov 9, 2013 American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. Lost WBO super featherweight title
30 Win 27–1–2 Diego Magdaleno SD 12 Apr 6, 2013 Cotai Arena, Macau, SAR Retained WBO super featherweight title
29 Draw 26–1–2 Juan Carlos Burgos SD 12 Jan 19, 2013 The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. Retained WBO super featherweight title
28 Win 26–1–1 Miguel Beltrán Jr. SD 12 Sep 15, 2012 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Won vacant WBO super featherweight title
27 Win 25–1–1 Daniel Attah TKO 6 (12), 1:50 Oct 1, 2011 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
26 Loss 24–1–1 Ricky Burns UD 12 Sep 4, 2010 Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland Lost WBO super featherweight title
25 Win 24–0–1 Gonzalo Munguía KO 4 (12), 1:48 May 29, 2010 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico Retained WBO super featherweight title
24 Win 23–0–1 Feider Viloria KO 9 (12), 2:59 Sep 12, 2009 José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico Retained WBO super featherweight title
23 Win 22–0–1 Nicky Cook TKO 4 (12), 2:20 Mar 14, 2009 MEN Arena, Manchester, England Won WBO super featherweight title
22 Win 21–0–1 Walter Estrada UD 10 Dec 13, 2008 José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
21 Win 20–0–1 Santos Benavides TKO 6 (12), 2:03 Aug 30, 2008 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico Retained WBO–NABO super featherweight title
20 Win 19–0–1 Cristian Favela UD 10 Apr 25, 2008 Coliseo Antonio R. Barceló, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
19 Win 18–0–1 José Aníbal Cruz TKO 3 (12) Feb 23, 2008 Coliseo Héctor Solá Bezares, Caguas, Puerto Rico Retained WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
18 Win 17–0–1 Daniel Jiménez KO 12 (12), 1:51 Aug 25, 2007 Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico Won WBO–NABO and vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight titles
17 Win 16–0–1 Genaro Trazancos TKO 3 (10), 2:43 Jun 22, 2007 José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
16 Win 15–0–1 Francisco Lorenzo SD 12 Feb 2, 2007 Coliseo Pedrín Zorrilla, San Juan, Puerto Rico Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
15 Win 14–0–1 Baudel Cárdenas TD 10 (12), 0:41 Nov 17, 2006 Mario Morales Coliseum, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Won vacant WBO Latino super featherweight title
14 Win 13–0–1 Wilfredo Vargas TKO 3 (6), 1:56 Sep 30, 2006 Coliseo Héctor Solá Bezares, Caguas, Puerto Rico
13 Win 12–0–1 José Luis Soto Karass UD 10 Oct 21, 2005 José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
12 Win 11–0–1 Derrick Moon UD 8 Mar 5, 2005 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
11 Win 10–0–1 Mario Lacey KO 5 (6), 1:35 Jan 27, 2005 Michael's Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
10 Win 9–0–1 Johnny Walker UD 8 Jul 15, 2004 Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
9 Win 8–0–1 Celestino Rodríguez TKO 7 (8) Apr 23, 2004 Coliseo Guillermo Angulo, Carolina, Puerto Rico
8 Draw 7–0–1 José Cruz SD 6 Oct 24, 2003 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 Joe Johnson TKO 3 Apr 12, 2003 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Adisone Sengaroun KO 3 (4) Feb 21, 2003 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 Israel Coraliz UD 4 Oct 27, 2003 Mario Morales Coliseum, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
4 Win 4–0 Richard Boyd KO 1 (4), 1:51 Oct 5, 2002 Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Israel Galarza SD 4 Mar 23, 2002 Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2 Win 2–0 Ricky Piedra KO 1 (4) Feb 22, 2002 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Wilfredo Ramos TKO 4 Dec 22, 2001 Acropolis, Manatí, Puerto Rico

This page was last updated at 2023-11-26 13:01 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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