Española’s Martinez pines for spotlight
Fighter is again on undercard for Saturday’s boxing matches
Antonio Martinez is becoming acutely aware of the cameras.
Some day, he just might end up in front of one.
Martinez, a welterweight boxer from Española, has seen what the spotlight is like when a boxing event is nationally televised. He was on the fight card in September 2016 featured on Fox Sports 1 in its Toe-to-Toe Tuesday event at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, but the cameras shut down once the three main fights finished and the undercard took center stage.
So the nation missed his win over Ivan Lucero, but Martinez continued his winning ways since he came under the wing of trainer and promoter Pat Holmes. Martinez is 7-0-1 over the past two years as he prepares to fight El Paso’s Gabriel Gutierrez in a 139-pound bout on Holmes’ latest boxing card. Holmes helped set up the match with New Jersey’s Sampson Boxing, which got it on DirecTV station TYC Sports.
Martinez is happy that these events are bringing exposure to Northern New Mexico, even if he has yet to reap the benefits of them. “It’s great, and it’s a good thing,” Martinez said. “We’re bringing good talented fighters in and give the fans a good showing. At the same time, we get to showcase our local talent.”
The undercard has a strictly New Mexico flavor — those five fights include boxers from the state. Just like those fighters, Martinez hopes that a good showing Saturday will lead to better things for his career.
In some ways, it’s already happened for Martinez. Holmes helped Martinez change his style from that of a brawling puncher into a more tactful boxer, who thinks his way through a fight better than he did before. That was the case in his May bout against Ben Vasquez. It was rematch of a fight that led to a draw in 2016, but Martinez didn’t let it get to the judges — he knocked Vasquez out in the second round.
“Now, I can set up a knockout,” Martinez said. “You throw certain punches to set up the actual damaging blow, and you’re using your mind and thinking out there. It’s easier to get the knockout when you’re doing that because there’s something technical to it.”
As Martinez’s skills improve, he’s earned the chance to face better fighters in the ring and in workouts. After Argentina’s Juan Jose Velasco came to Santa Fe last week to begin his training session for his main-event fight against Juan Garcia Mendez, Martinez sparred with him.
Measuring himself against a fighter who is 16-0 as a professional emboldens Martinez that his career is progressing the way he wants it to.
“It’s a different level,” Martinez said. “That’s a world-class level, and to be able to get that work is a blessing. Just being able to compete with that caliber of fighter is a confidence booster. Both of us were working hard. It wasn’t a slap fight. We were throwing
hard shots at each other and working.”
With a win, Martinez will improve to 9-2-4, and it might open some doors that were closed to him a few years ago. There might be a chance at a big-time fight — maybe one for a title, maybe one that’s on television. “With the right backing, and with Pat in my corner, I think we can push this pretty far,” Martinez said. “There’s a different side to me and we’re starting to see the possibility of something good.”