
By Ryan Burton
Up and coming Mexican prospect Jose Felix Jr. (24-0-1) took another step towards a title when he blew out Fernando Garcia (27-4-2) in the first round of their super featherweight bout Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Garcia is a tough fighter and Felix feels like he made a statement with the victory and hopes to keep increasing his level of competition.
"Its a big win. Fernando Garcia is a tough fighter. He's fought a lot of good fighters and given them good fights. I think my preparation and my conditioning is what led me to the victory. I just want to keep moving forward," said Felix Jr.
The Mexican burst on to the scene this past September when in his US debut he defeated tough Puerto Rican Luis Cruz on a special Thursday edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights. The fight took place before the Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.
Felix now has his eyes on facing another Puerto Rican, two-time WBO super featherweight champion Rocky Martinez (27-1-1). The 30-year-old Martinez most recently won the vacant WBO title on the Chavez-Martinez card by defeating Miguel Beltran of Mexico via a razor thin split decision. He then retained the title with a controversial draw against Juan Carlos Burgos who is also from Mexico in their January fight. In his most recent fight, he narrowly defeated Mexican-American Diego Magdaleno via another split decision.
Felix Jr said that Mexico doesn't have a title right now in a division that traditionally has been strong for them and that he would love to avenge his countrymen's losses.
"I think a fight against Rocky Martinez would be a big fight. It's a great rivalry. I know that he's beat a lot of Mexicans and I would like to avenge their losses. We don't have a champion at 130 right now and that's an important weight class for Mexico. I think that I am ready for the fight and ready to take the title," Felix Jr. told BoxingScene.com.
Felix Jr. finished our conversation by saying that he is very confident that he would defeat Martinez if he were to get finally get his wish and face him in the ring.
"I've asked for the fight many times. I am ready for it and if it happens I won't let the people down," Felix Jr. stated.
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