Via Mark Eisner: Unbeatable lightweights Michel Rivera & Frank Martin meet in a 12-round match in a 135 lb WBA title elimination match tonight in a PBC match on Showtime boxing at Chelsea inside Las Vegas’ The Cosmopolitan . The event begins at 10:00 p.m. ET.
24h Boxing News will update the Rivera vs. Martin tonight below.
In the main support match, former IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcategui (32-4, 27 KOs) hopes to claim the title against undisputed 168 lb champion Canelo Alvarez by beating Vladimir Shishkin (13-0.8 KO) tonight in their IBF title elimination match.
Full card:
Michel Rivera vs. Frank Martin
Jose Uzcategui vs Vladimir Shishkin
Vincent Astrolabio (compared to Nikolai Potapov
Omar Juarez (vs Austin Dulay
Elijah Garcia (vs Cruse Stewart
Frank Martin’s coach, Derrick James, said: “I think he’s very strong and very skillful, and you’ll see what we’re doing. Artist KO Sports.
“His ultimate opponent [Jackson Marinez] who Frank beat up a year and a half ago. So I think the guy is not the same guy. Frank took a lot from him. You kind of rate it. The guy hit him a lot.
“That fight could be good for him, or it could be bad for him. I think he’s about to hit the target,” James said when asked how Martin is going to get to the title, assuming he wins Rivera tonight.
“Every war is about depth. In boxing, you can’t go backwards. You take a few more steps. It’s not important. James said.
“I feel like they will notice, but they will still try to put me down. Frank Martin told Boxing showtime about his predictions for how some boxing fans will treat him after he beats Rivera tonight.
Martin’s career is going fast
“I’ll get some love out of it, but it won’t be as crazy as dancing. They will still put me down. When I moved up here, that’s when the ball started to roll fast with the increase of the opponent and everything.
“I went into this match 16-0, already in a state of elimination, everything happened so fast. That’s why I joined this war. It’s a title remover, so it puts me in that position [to challenge WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or undisputed champ Devin Haney].
“The tank is scheduled to fight. Let’s say he and I are going to have a fight. That should push it through to the end of the year. Devin had his job going. So I feel that the title will come later this year.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m ready. I am ready for all of them. They wear their shoes like me. I was there. That was before I started training with Derrick,” Martin said of his fight against Tank Davis years ago.
“It’s just me following my own course [ability]. Now I’m taking things slow. I know what to do. I have more experience. It just shows me that these guys are not out of sight. They did nothing to you that you did not happen to you. It’s not like that.
“I didn’t go in there like, ‘This is Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.’ I didn’t get into the ring like that. That’s what a lot of people do. I went there like he was just another workout partner. The confrontation is certain.
“It was in Vegas in Floyd’s gym. There were about 40 people in the gym when it happened. Floyd was even there. That is direct. It’s noisy. They weren’t fighting in the ring or anything, but everyone was stuck.
“I am a monster,” Martin said when asked what was the best compliment he received after fighting Gervonta. “They were like, ‘You look like a beast.’
“Back then, I didn’t understand my excuses. I am not basic. I’ve been fighting more with a style that I’m comfortable with down the line.
“I have no understanding of basic boxing. Now that I’ve got it basically, defending, counter-attacking, using my hands. Now I can put my ingenuity into it and go back to my fundamentals. I know how to mix it all together.
“His coaching method,” Martin said when asked why Derrick James is such a successful coach. “He coached us the same, but different. “He will coach you on what you have. He will make you practice with the basics.
“Every fighter has something they are good at. So he’ll look at what you’re good at, and then he’ll try to get you better at it, and then add certain stuff to it.
“We practiced a lot for this match, but we practiced before. Martin discussed his training with promoter Errol Spence for this match against Rivera.
“I was driving and thinking about it, ‘I’m training with Errol Spence.’ We were together, but that never affected me.
