Frank Martin enjoyed one hell of a return to the 140lbs division.
The former lightweight title challenger ended an 18-month ring absence in emphatic fashion, courtesy of a fourth-round knockout of Rances Barthelemy. Martin scored two knockdowns, the latter of which ended the fight on the spot at 2 minutes and 56 seconds of Round 4 on Saturday at Frost Bank Center, home of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
The bout headlined a three-fight PBC on Prime Video preliminary stream, preceding a pay-per-view event topped by the Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach Jnr WBC interim 140lbs title fight. Martin will no doubt take his seat ringside for that one.
“Salute to the main event fighters, but I definitely want to take on whoever wins between them,” Martin told Prime Video’s Brian Campbell. “Or we can go look at [IBF 140lbs] titlist Richardson Hitchins.”
Both fighters had been glaringly inactive heading into the contest. Martin, 19-1 (13 KOs), hadn’t fought since his lone career defeat, an eighth-round knockout to WBA 135lbs titlist Gervonta “Tank” Davis last June 14 in Las Vegas.
The 30-year-old, Dallas-based southpaw Martin entered the ring on Saturday with a new team. A training switch was made from Derrick James to Hall of Fame former two-division champ James “Buddy” McGirt. The mix has already proven to bode well for Martin’s natural athleticism.
Barthelemy, 30-4-1 (15 KOs) – a 39-year-old former two-division titlist who hasn’t fought since last April – struggled to keep pace with his younger foe. Martin used angles and continually found a home for his left hand through three rounds.
That statement was amplified in the fourth. Martin scored the first knockdown of the contest, courtesy of a left hand to force Barthelemy to the deck, which proved to be the beginning of the end. Barthelemy beat the count but wasn’t at all let off the hook. Martin slammed home a final left-hand power shot to put Barthelemy down – and out.
Referee James Green immediately waved off the contest and called for medical attention, as Barthelemy was on his back for several minutes. He eventually made it out of the ring on his own strength, though the end has very clearly arrived for the Cuban export.
Martin will now take aim at the best in the 140lbs division. Saturday marked his first victory inside the distance since a July 2022 10-round stoppage of Jackson Mariñez. It was his first win of any kind since he outpointed unbeaten Artem Harutyunyan in a July 2023 l35lbs title eliminator.
Isaac Lucero bursts onto 154lbs stage
Barely six months after an impressive US debut, red-hot junior middleweight Isaac Lucero has punched his way into contender status.
The unbeaten Lucero – from La Paz, Mexico, but who now lives and trains in Las Vegas – impressed in a stoppage win over countryman Roberto Valenzuela Jnr. A barrage of power shots left Valenzuela limp, which prompted referee Mark Nelson to stop the contest at 2 minutes and 59 seconds of Round 8.
Lucero, 18-0 (14 KOs), jumped out to a strong start, complete with an opening-round knockdown. A pair of rights did the trick, though Valenzuela protested – to no avail – that the back end of the combo was more of a push behind his head.
Nevertheless, Valenzuela fought hard to make up the difference and found success with his uppercut in Round 2. The fight was on and popping from there, though Lucero rode out a few anxious moments to eventually seize control.
Lucero had Valenzuela badly hurt late in the eighth round, courtesy of several right hands upstairs. Valenzuela thought he saw daylight once he heard the 10-second clapper – and technically did get to that point. Lucero was relentless, however, and snapped back Valenzuela’s head enough times to force referee intervention just as the bell sounded.
The fight was Lucero’s second consecutive stateside appearance. He knocked out countryman Omar Valenzuela (no relation to Roberto) inside two rounds on May 31 in Las Vegas.
Luis Nuñez outworks, outpoints Hector Sosa
Luis Nuñez preserved his perfect record with a 10-round unanimous decision over Hector Sosa.
The battle of Sampson Lewkowicz-promoted featherweights saw Nunez, 22-0 (14 KOs) – a Vegas-based Dominican – prevail by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94.
Argentina’s Sosa, 18-4 (9 KOs), was competitive throughout and the more active puncher. However, the judges rightly sided with Nuñez’s greater accuracy and cleaner shots. Compubox credited Nuñez with landing 157 of 457 punches (34.4 per cent), compared to 114 of 552 (20.7 per cent) for Sosa.
