By Jake Donovan
In what could be his last fight before competing on the world title level, undefeated Puerto Rican prospect Roman "Rocky" Martinez receives a stay-busy fight when he takes on Mexican journeyman Cristian Favela in a ten-round junior lightweight battle.
The bout headlines this week's edition of Telefutura's Solo Boxeo Tecate, which airs live from Toa Alta, Puerto Rico (Friday 8PM ET/PT).
Martinez (18-0-1, 11KO) is not your standard prospect, from bell to bell or from fight to fight. Many fighters on the way up will endure a schedule that consists of quantity over quality, piling up quick wins against hapless opposition.
It hasn't been the case for the two-fisted Puerto Rican boxer-puncher, who's had 19 fights spray-painted over a seven-year career. He's never fought more than four times in a calendar year, which came in 2002, his first as a professional.
What his resume does contain is substance. Wins over Francisco Lorenzo and Daniel Jimenez are evidence enough that the kid can fight, as is the suggestion from most insiders that he's ready for a title shot in 2008.
Martinez has also shown the ability to bounce back from adversity. A controversial 2003 draw against then-unbeaten Jose Leonardo Cruz on Telemundo could've easily crushed his spirits, especially considering that most believed Cruz was jobbed out of a decision. A deduction for a questionable low blow proved to be the difference between the official draw verdict and a split decision win for Cruz.
Such a fight would cause most promoters to go back to the drawing board, lining up confidence builders while protecting their fighters. Puerto Rico Best Boxing Promotions never had such thoughts, continuing to match Martinez tough while steadily believing in their fighter.
They could've easily been made to look the fool, but Martinez has done his team proud, racking up eleven straight wins against respectable opposition while advancing up the alphabet rankings.
The biggest win of his career came last summer, in the co-feature to stable mate Ivan Calderon's junior flyweight-title winning performance against Hugo Cazares. It was a packed house in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and Martinez did his part to hype up the crowd, throwing down in a spirited battle with Daniel Jimenez.
The bout was give and take for eight rounds before Martinez turned up the heat in the final four frames. An all out assault in the 10th and 11th rounds paved the way for a strong finish, with Martinez dropping Jimenez in the final round before closing the show with just over a minute left in the fight.
The win put the Puerto Rican in line to eventually challenge the winner of next weekend's battle between undefeated titlist Joan Guzman and Alex Arthur. It is with that in mind that his handlers have now elected to take a cautious step in advancing his career, with Friday night's bout being his second straight tune-up in a span of two months.
That's not to say that Cristian Favela is a complete pushover, not in the slightest. The well-traveled Mexican doesn't boast the prettiest of records (15-14-4, 9KO), but has only been stopped once in his ten-year career.
Like most gritty journeyman, Favela is good for the occasional spoiler. Most notable among his 15 wins was his 2003 shocker against former titlist Willie Jorrin on Fox Sports. The bout was intended as a Jorrin showcase, means to shake off ring rust and a damaging loss to Oscar Larios a year prior. It instead turned into a disaster, as Favela was the busier fighter throughout in taking a well-deserved majority decision.
There was still a glimmer of hope in Favela's career at the time, having run his record to 9-5-2 with the upset win. His luck took a turn for the worse, with overzealous matchmaking leading to far too many losses in way too short of a time span, winning only 6 of his past 15 bouts, while claiming opponent status against the likes of Ramon Montano, Wes Ferguson, Czar Amonsot and current top lightweight David Diaz.
Of course, with boxing predicated on "what have you done for me lately," Favela rides a modest two-fight win streak heading into the Martinez bout, including a ten round decision just last week to lift his record above .500 for the first time in two years.
Chances are he'll dip back to even after Friday night, but at the very least will let Martinez know he's in a fight. Which works out perfect for the Puerto Rican, as it well help ease the transition from long-time prospect to title contender.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
