Last night in Guatemala City, former welterweight and super-welterweight champ Ricardo Mayorga was hammered to a quick second-round defeat by local man Lester Martinez, who was making his pro debut. The fight, which took place at an agreed weight of 170 pounds, was no contest from the start. 46 year old Mayorga, long since badly faded, tried to make a fight of it but he was soon in trouble.
Taking punishment in round-two, the Nicaraguan was saved from a severe beating by the referee who had seen enough. Mayorga is now 32-12-1(26) and he has now lost his last three fights, all by stoppage. 23 year old Martinez, now 1-0(1) aims to fight again soon. As for Mayorga, he stated, quite incredibly after the humiliating loss, that he is not yet done, that it is his intention to have two more fights and then call it a career. But who on earth will be willing to promote Mayorga, to have him risk his health further on one of their shows? Sadly, someone probably will do so.
Mayorga insists he does not need the money, but why else is he fighting on, or trying to fight on? A fan-favourite in his day, back in the early and mid-2000s when he was going to war with big names like Vernon Forrest, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Cory Spinks, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas, Mayorga earned a reputation as a wild man. Fans took to Mayorga, a warrior who would smoke a cigarette and down a beer frequently, even in training.
Today, though, Mayorga is a sad imitation of his former self. As for Martinez, we learned next to nothing about him or how good he is from last night’s sad spectacle. Martinez is certainly a prospect to watch though. Whether he campaigns as a super-middleweight or as a light-heavyweight, the former amateur standout is one to keep an eye on. Mayorga may or may not be back home in Nicaragua right about now, as he stated before last night’s bout how he would walk home should he lose.
