Lester Martinez, in his first public comments since producing Saturday’s fight of the night in a brutal draw versus WBC interim super middleweight titleholder Christian Mbilli, said, “It was the opportunity of our lives, and we made the most of it.”
The WBC has granted Martinez’s request for an immediate rematch with fellow unbeaten Mbilli after they engaged in the draw under Martinez gym mate Terence Crawford’s unanimous decision victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
In an interview Thursday on ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today,” Martinez told hosts Jimmy Smith, Paulie Malignaggi and Chris Algieri that training alongside Crawford, 42-0, made his bout against Mbilli, 30-0-1, a “reflection of the preparation … physically and mentally. It helped me a lot.”
Guatemala’s top-10 ranked Martinez, 19-0-1, said the accomplishment of “getting a draw against a world champion when you’re not favored and when hardly anyone knows you … we did something right.”
The grueling battle was intense, a constant-punching inside war in which Martinez landed effective uppercuts and stood toe-to-toe with the Cameroon-born Canadian who sought to score a knockout.
Appearing with a face free of swelling on Thursday, Martinez said, “I’m sore, but I’m calm.”
Asked if he believed he won after judge Patricia Morse Jarman had it 97-93 in his favor, Martinez said, “I felt like a winner. I felt that I won. I was very happy, but not satisfied.”
He said the bout was trying due to Mbilli’s pressure.
“As the fight goes on, you feel tired, but the desire to win the belt kept me going,” Martinez, 29, said. My heart and emotion were incredibly strong.”
Martinez is pushing for the rematch to be a 12-round fight after Saturday’s 10-round affair.
“Of course I want [that], I want to be a champion,” he said. “I feel like a champion. I assure you, I can do better and I can really win [the rematch].”
Moving up from the ProBoxTV environment to a stadium show proved “exciting” and forced Martinez to set aside the environment to remain “mentally prepared.
“I knew I was walking among greats – a big venue in front of a big crowd.”
That exposure lifts him into the No. 3 contender’s spot in the WBA and No. 4 in the WBC.
Asked what he would change in reviewing the bout in hindsight, Martinez agreed that devoting more effort to his effective uppercuts and fighting Mbilli at greater range might have swayed the bout his way. Nevertheless, the entertainment value of the bout was immense.
“I could have done a better job,” he said. “I wanted people to see who Lester Martinez is.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
