Charles Martin read recently that among the reasons Anthony Joshua is committed to making a mandatory defense of his IBF heavyweight title against Kubrat Pulev is that Joshua doesn’t want to give it up and allow Martin to fight Pulev for it.
Martin is the IBF’s second-ranked contender and would face the top-rated Pulev for that championship if Joshua vacated it. Joshua, who also owns the WBA, WBO and IBO crowns, knocked out Martin in the second round to win the IBF championship in April 2016 at O2 Arena in London.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, intends to reschedule the Joshua-Pulev bout. The new date for Joshua-Pulev won’t be determined until the British government permits fans to attend sporting events.
Joshua wore a cumbersome brace on his left leg when he appeared at a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday in his hometown of Watford, England. The British superstar since has insisted that the minor knee injury he sustained while training recently won’t prevent him from fighting Pulev.
Martin is holding out hope that Joshua will change his mind and skip his mandated defense versus Pulev to pursue bigger fights.
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s the least he can do for me,” Martin told BoxingScene.com. “I made his entire career. Without me, Anthony Joshua doesn’t exist. I didn’t train a day for him and went to his backyard hurt for my first defense. The not training part is on me because I thought Joshua was just another chinny, overrated bum. To this day, I know I was right about that chin.”
England’s Joshua sent a then-unbeaten Martin to the canvas twice with right hands on his way to a second-round knockout four years ago. Fans have heavily criticized Martin for his poor performance against Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs).
The thought of a rematch motivates Martin more than anything, but he’d gladly battle Bulgaria’s Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) for the IBF title.
“Joshua is going out of his way to fight Pulev because he says he don’t wanna give me my title back,” Martin said. “This man should be more grateful. Let me knock Pulev out, and then you do for me what I did for you – come to the United States and face me. This guy owes it to me. If I didn’t go to the UK, Joshua would have waited years for a title shot and he knows it.”
Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) was paid a career-high, seven-figure purse to make an optional title defense against Joshua in England.
The strong southpaw has gone 5-1, including four knockouts, since Joshua beat him. His lone loss during that stretch was a close, unanimous-decision defeat to Adam Kownacki (20-1, 15 KOs) in a fan-friendly 10-rounder in September 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
In his most recent appearance, the 6-feet-5, 254-pound Martin stopped Gerald Washington (20-4-1, 13 KOs) in the sixth round of an IBF elimination match February 22 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That victory moved Martin closer toward another shot at the IBF belt.
“I promise I will correct my mistake and knock Joshua out,” Martin said. “Winner take all. This ain’t about money, it’s about revenge.”
Joshua and the 39-year-old Pulev were scheduled to fight June 20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Their mandated match has been delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.