By Jake Donovan
Charles Martin wasn’t worried about stepping up in class when he was offered the chance to face Dominic Breazeale. He remains unfazed heading into the biggest fight of his career, as he faces fellow unbeaten heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov in a vacant title fight January 16 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The bout – which will air live on Showtime in chief support to another heavyweight title fight between Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka – marks Martin’s first foray into the title picture, coming against his toughest test to date. The way he sees it, however, is that the same can be said in reverse.
“I’m no Steve Cunningham, I’m no Tomasz Adamek, I’m not Malik Scott, who supposedly beat him,” Martin (22-0-1, 20KOs) insisted during a media recent conference call to promote the fight. “I’m a totally different fighter entirely. He hasn't fought anybody like me before”
The 29-year old from Carson, Calif. certainly looks the part and presents a different look than most heavyweights given his southpaw stance. However, his resume suggests judgment day lies ahead. Whereas Glazkov (21-0-1, 13KOs) has landed on the favorable end of several questionable decisions, he can boast the in-ring experience as the unbeaten boxer from Ukraine also heads into his first career title fight.
Martin cannot yet boast the same. In fact, the one fight that would have answered such questions was ultimately pulled off the table in favor of pursuing a title fight.
The unbeaten southpaw was due to face Breazeale on a Dec. ’12 Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC telecast, a fitting rivalry fight with the two having appeared on the same show in September. Breazeale was fortunate to get past Fred Kassi in their NBC-televised co-feature, while Martin was given a layup in pounding on pudgy Mexican heavyweight Vicente Sandez, a bout that aired live on NBC Sports Network.
A collision course was in store until the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title became available during fight week. Martin insisted he still wanted to go through with the clash versus Breazeale, but was encouraged by his team to withdraw from the fight in favor of pursuing the belt.
While disappointment remains in not having been able to take on both fights, the rising heavyweight gained additional motivation in training camp given the raised stakes.
“I’m blessed to be in this position to fight for the world title,” Martin acknowledges. “It’s something that all fighters dream of and I’m not letting anything stand of my way of this IBF title shot. I’m in high altitude (in Big Bear, Calif.), grinding away.
“We train to be superstars and that’s what you guys are going to see (on Jan. 16th).”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox