Immanuwel Aleem rejects underdog label ahead of Lester Martinez fight

Aleem dismisses expectations before WBC interim title fight with Martinez

Immanuwel Aleem rejects the underdog label ahead of his WBC interim super middleweight title fight with Lester Martinez on Saturday.

Aleem made it clear he doesn’t view himself through the same lens others are using when asked about entering as a heavy underdog.

“I don’t understand what a dog is. All fighting. I got hands. He got hands,” Aleem said to Red Glove News about his fight against Lester.

That line cuts away most of the build around the fight. Martinez has been talked up as a fighter who could move toward names like Canelo Alvarez with a win, but Aleem is treating the matchup as a straight exchange rather than a ladder for someone else to climb.

It’s not a new position for him. Aleem pointed out that he has spent much of his career in similar situations, facing opponents expected to win and working through that from his amateur days into the professional ranks. From his view, labels tied to records or expectations don’t change what happens once the fight starts.

“I feel like that’s been my whole career,” Aleem said. “You got to go and execute.”

That approach carries into how he’s preparing for Martinez. Instead of focusing on perception or reputation, Aleem kept the emphasis on doing what his team has trained for and making the adjustments needed on the night.

The message stays consistent. He isn’t engaging with odds, narratives, or long-term plans attached to his opponent. In his view, none of that travels into the ring once the fight begins.

Saturday’s bout for the WBC interim super middleweight title will still be positioned as an opportunity for Martinez to move forward. Aleem is approaching it as something simpler, where both fighters are working with the same tools and the same objective once the opening bell sounds.

He may be the only one who sees this as even, and he plans on proving all the people wrong that picked Lester to win.