By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
Julio Cesar Martinez (16-1, 12 KOs) out of Mexico defended his WBC flyweight title with a unanimous decision at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, over Britain’s tough, gritty Jay Harris (17-1, 9 KOs) over twelve action packed rounds.
Martinez won the vacant title against Cristofer Rosales in his last fight last December in Phoenix and at only 25, is one of the most exciting fighters in the world. He is trained by Team Canelo and Eddy Reynoso. This was Harris’ first fight in the United States.
Martinez came out strong from the opening bell showing fast hands, feints and power against Harris who survived the onslaught early from the aggressive Martinez. In the 3rd round, Martinez continued to apply the pressure and landed big left hands, but Harris stayed right in pocket and countered Martinez with his own combos and body shots at times. The 4th and 5th round was much of the same as Martinez continued his body assault trying to break down the Brit Harris. Harris, with a cut over his left eye and a bloody nose, showed he’s not going anywhere.
Martinez did his best work in round 7 with a one, two, one combo to the jaw of Harris that sent him wailing towards the ropes and then Martinez dropped a flurry of punches to the head and body, but Harris somehow stayed upright. Martinez also landed to the body, but Harris, found his mark from time to time and was able to snap back the head of Martinez.
Martinez landed another barrage of punches in the 9th round in the center of the ring, but Harris stayed right there and would not go down. And finally, in the 10th round, Martinez dropped Harris with a left and right to the body that sent Harris to one knee but beat the count and continued to show heart.
In the 12th and final round, Martinez tried to close the show as both guys went toe to toe as the fight ended. The entertaining fight ended with Martinez defending his WBC flyweight title as the scores read 118–109, 116-111, 115-112 for the unanimous decision.
Martinez was interviewed by Chris Mannix,in the ring post fight and had this to say:
“It was a very tough battle, look to fight title many times and there is no fear right here. There are no excuses here, I will defend this title many times, this was for Mexico. Congratulations to Harris. He was a very strong fighter and I want to defend against anyone, anywhere.”
Hopefully next for Martinez is a break. 21 rounds fought in about 10-11 weeks maybe? Take a break and come back, he is an awesome champion.
I really love the way Martinez fights. He’s quick, fast and throws a wide variety of unusual combinations. He’s also a hellacious puncher. I have to commend Harris for standing up to those punches and finishing the fight still fighting back.
Martinez fought a smart fight tonight. He didn’t go wild and punch himself out early. He responded with effective shots when ever Harris hit him with clean shots. It was an entertaining fight throughout. This fight and the Chocolatito-Yafai match were the fights of the night.
It was a close but decisive win for Martinez. He slowed down a bit in the later rounds, but the knockdown really clinched it for him on the scorecards. Harris put up a great fight and against anyone else not named Naoya Inoue, probably would have won. He still has a great future ahead and will be knocking on the door for a title sooner rather than later.
This comment looks like three comments copy and pasted from elsewhere. 3 separate comments saying the same darn thing.
Martinez is must-see TV. Excellent, innovative footwork, combination punching, vicious, smart counter-puncher. He does tend to get hit cleanly though so I agree that he needs to take breaks between fights to extend his longevity. He is going to be a problem. Would love to see him fight against any of the following: Tanaka, Dalakian, Ancajas, Chocolatito, Estrada