By Luis Sandoval
Rising prospect Ryan Martin is coming up on his first year of being a professional boxer and will try to earn his 8th career victory this Friday night when he takes on Engelberto Valenzuela.
The Chattanooga, TN born fighter is the youngest fighter signed to 50 Cent’s SMS Promotions and he hopes to make great strides in his career with the backing of his promoter and manager Tim VanNewhouse.
Like many young fighters entering the sport, Martin chose to align himself with a promoter he felt could help guide his career. His manager VanNewhouse took him to meetings with various promoters but they ultimately went with 50 Cent as they felt he could afford them exposure and opportunities no one else could provide.
Martin is slowly becoming one of the faces that represent the SMS Promotions brand. When people talk about Martin, they immediately associate him with 50 Cent. Martin is happy to be with SMS and likes how things have changed for the better for him.
“My life has certainly changed since 50 signed me. I'm able to focus on the sport full-time, stay active and continue to learn. My manager handles most of the daily operations with Monique Mayers from SMS. But I think 50 likes it that way. It frees up space for his creative side and I know he's working on big things to come for me” said Martin.
SMS is a relatively new to the sport but unlike some of the other SMS fighters on the roster, Martin has been kept extremely busy. 50 promised to have Martin fighting frequently and he’s made good on his promise so far as this will be Martin’s 6th fight this year alone.
Martin’s manager was instrumental in pairing his fighter with 50 Cent and feels things have been going great.
“I work diligently every day focusing on Ryan's career. It's very time consuming, but I truly love it. We are very appreciative of what 50 is doing. 50 has been amazingly good to us. He’s still letting Ryan follow his dream and puts us on any show we want to be on” said VanNewhouse.
Despite some of the things SMS is going through with other fighters, Martin has been kept on track and is being pushed and developed accordingly. His last fight was broadcast nationally on ESPN’s Friday Night this past June and Martin hopes to put on an impressive performance this Friday night.
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