Via Jim Calfa: Julio Cesar Martinez feels he has all the advantages over Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez as he heads into battle this Saturday night, March 5 in a 12-round super flyover over DAZN at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The 115-lb WBC Diamond title will be Chocolatito’s chance to win.
Julio Cesar Martinez is 2 lbs overweight at 117 lbs
Unfortunately, Martinez slipped on Friday’s weigh-in, at 117 lbs, so he won’t be able to compete for the 115-lb WBC Diamond title. For his part, Chocolatito successfully weighed in at 114.7 lbs.
When there were no major titles, maybe Martinez opted in use size to his advantage. Beating Chocolatito would be a giant feather in Rey Martinez’s hat, and fans won’t realize he’s underweight. In other words, Winning is all that matters.
It’s not clear why Rey Martinez was weighing over the super fly class limit of 115 when he was moving up the weight class from 112 lb. It’s not a huge shock that Martinez is overweight, as he looked significantly larger than Chocolatito during Thursday’s media workout.
Introduced by promoter Eddie Hearn as a replacement for former quadruple world champion Chocolatito (50-3, 41 KOs) for the fight, Rey Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) is confident he will nominate. Legendary boxer failed miserably.
The winner of the match Chocolatito vs. Martinez on Saturday will face WBC Franchise/WBA super fly Juan Francisco Estrada.
It was 34-year-old Chocolatito’s original opponent that would fight in a three-part match on March 5, but he had to withdraw due to a slow COVID-19 recovery.
Rey Martinez, 27, is a pure fighter who attacks his opponents relentlessly. He finished well except against a pure fighter in Jay Harriswho gave Martinez the fit in their fight in February 2020.
Martinez withdrew in the final rounds after dropping Harris in the tenth, but the contest was closer to the score passed by the two judges.
Julio Cesar Martinez said: “We know we have a great legend that has raised the bar for smaller units and we know we have a big challenge ahead. Tru School Sports in his fight on Saturday night against Roman Gonzalez.
“When it comes to advantages, I think I have more than speed when it comes to power,” Rey Martinez said of the advantages he has over Chocolatito.
“Little by little, people will see what I have. We are rivals, and we have to make sure that we defend our pride in the ring. Technique, head movements, back punches, what we’re doing is honing our skills with Eddy [Reynoso]“Rey Martinez talks about the things he learned from Reynoso.
Martinez was coached by Eddy Reynoso, the coach with whom Canelo Alvarez spent most of his career.
However, Rey Martinez was already an outstanding fighter when he came to Reynoso, so you can’t credit him for his growth. Since working with Reynoso, Martinez has been less aggressive and doesn’t look as good as before.
!@chocolatitobox and @ CsarReyMartnez1 direct combat @DAZNBoxing ️#ChocolatitoMartinez pic.twitter.com/RdmTOeGUl8
– Boxing in Matchroom (@MatchroomBoxing) March 4, 2022
“We are looking for the big fights. Then it could be ‘El Gallo’ Estrada or Rungvisai,” Martinez said while looking beyond the Chocolatito game. “We are looking for those big uphill battles. We are here in boxing for whoever they put in front of us.
Martinez said: “Longing, longing” for what will lead him to Saturday night’s victory over Roman Gonzalez. “This is the beginning of our trajectory.”
“As always, we prepare for everything, decide, because it is a clash, a technical battle. We come here well trained; I wanted to make sure that the public would leave with a good taste in their mouths,” Martinez said.
It might be wise for Rey Martinez to drop to 112 if he struggles to beat Chocolatito or if he loses because he doesn’t qualify for the weight class.
If Martinez gets in there with a pure boxer like Bam Rodriguez or a giant boxer like Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, he could lose. Those guys have the elements that make their game a nightmare for Rey Martinez.
