By Jamie Leadbitter
WHILE all eyes may be on Saturday’s main event showdown between Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach, the undercard offers fight fans an additional two compelling world title fights, including Alberto Puello’s WBC super-lightweight title clash against Spain’s Sandor Martin.
Dominican southpaw Puello, 23-0 (10 KOs), was recently elevated to full WBC world champion after former titleholder Devin Haney was declared champion in recess. Puello won the interim strap last June against the undefeated Gary Antuanne Russell and will make his first defence of the coveted green and gold strap this weekend.
‘La Avispa’ won the WBA title at 140lbs in 2022 after beating highly-rated Russian Botirzhon Akhemdov. However, Puello vacated the title due to a failed drug test before his scheduled bout with Rolly Romero.
The Dominican was suspended and didn’t box for over a year, contributing to a boxing career which has been plagued by inactivity, with Puello fighting just once a year since 2022, and then despite fighting twice in 2021, he only fought once in 2020 and 2019.
This weekend, Spanish challenger Martin will fight for the first time since 2023, where he won two eight-rounders on the bounce following his closely contested points defeat to ‘The Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez.
Martin was part of a substantial rise for Spanish boxing under Matchroom. Since the volume of shows in Spain has deteriorated, opportunities have been few and far between.
The Spaniard’s biggest win came back in 2021 when he outpointed Mikey Garcia and subsequently asserted himself on the world stage. The 31-year-old southpaw will challenge for world glory for the first time on Saturday, looking to become Spain’s first world champion since Kiko Martinez held the IBF featherweight strap in 2022.
With both fighters possessing a sub-50 knockout percentage, this one could go the full 12-round distance. Puello is a very effective pressure fighter and throws punches with plenty of volume, whereas Martin doesn’t waste many punches. If it does go the judges’ scorecards, Puello’s output could be a telling factor.
However, Martin has proved his ability to box on the back foot, having success throughout his 10-round affair with ‘The Takeover’ Lopez with sharp counterpunching and elusive movement.
Puello’s experience going 12 rounds with a southpaw in Russell last year is another factor favouring the Dominican, with Martin not facing a lefty since his second career defeat to Anthony Yigit in 2017.
The winner of Saturday’s WBC title clash in Brooklyn, New York, may face mandatory challenger Dalton Smith later in the year, who will have a keen eye on what could be an intriguing 12-round affair.
