ALBERTO Puello was forced to dig deep to retain his WBC 140-pound strap, being pushed all the way by Spain’s Sandor Martin on the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach undercard in Brooklyn.
Puello, 24-0 (10 KOs), received the verdict by scores of 115-113 and 116-112 with the third judge favouring Martin, 42-4 (15 KOs), 115-113. It was a tight all-southpaw affair for the 12 rounds.
Martin had not boxed since December 2023 but managed to maintain the pace, landing skewering body shots while leading with his pawing right hand. Puello’s team called for urgency as the bout wore on.
This was another solid win for the Dominican fighter who previously bettered Gary Antuanne Russell and Batyr Akhmedov.
Martin holds a win over Mikey Garcia and was deemed unlucky in some quarters to concede a decision to Teofimo Lopez in 2022. His run of misfortune continued here as he was the recipient of another close defeat.
