Ryan Martin fighting Saturday
No rest for the weary. Five weeks after his last bout, Chattanooga native Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin returns to the boxing ring, but his days of competing as a lightweight officially are over.
Martin will face former junior welterweight contender Breidis Prescott on Saturday night at the Stubhub Center in Carson, Calif. The eight-round bout is on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin’s middleweight world title defense against Vanes Martirosyan.
The Times Free Press was informed Martin’s bout will air live on HBO’s International feed at about 10 p.m. EDT.
The 25-year-old Martin (210, 12 knockouts) most recently fought on March 27, stopping Luis Eduardo Florez in round four at Avalon in Hollywood, Calif. Martin was making his return to the ring after recovering from an injury suffered to his right pinky in his split-decision victory over contender Francisco Rojo of Mexico on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.
In the Florez fight, the 2011 Central High School graduate made his debut as a junior welterweight (140 pounds) after having fought as a lightweight contender since turning professional. Before making the move to 140, Martin ended up ranked in the the top 10 in three of boxing’s major sanctioning bodies at 135 pounds.
According to manager Tim Van New house, Martin is looking to get ranked as a junior welterweight.
“The plan is the same as what we did when Ryan competed as a lightweight: To
have him get ranked by the sanctioning bodies,” VanNewhouse told the Times Free Press on Thursday. “I informed the sanctioning bodies a few weeks ago that Ryan is now campaigning as 140 pounds.”
The World Boxing Council recently placed Martin at No. 8 in its rankings.
Should Martin come out victorious, the plan is for him to return to the ring in the fall. If nothing comes along, Martin may fight again in a tune-up bout to stay busy until something concrete comes along.
“The plan is Ryan to be a world champion,” VanNewhouse said. “We would like for Ryan to fight a top-10 contender later this year.”
Martin is trained by Abel Sanchez, who also trains Golovkin, in Big Bear Lake in California.
Prescott (31-12, 22 KOs) is originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, and now resides in the Miami area. In his last bout on April 6, Prescott won an eight-round unanimous decision over journeyman Segundo Herrera.
The 35-year-old Prescott entered the Herrera fight having lost five of his previous six bouts.
Francisco A. Salazar has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, Boxingscene.com and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at santio89@ yahoo.com or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.