Light welterweight contender Sandor Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) picked up an easy 10 round unanimous decision over the always tough Jose Felix (39-6-1, 30 KOs) last Friday night Palau Olímpic Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain.
The 28-year-old Spaniard Sandor Martin, coming off an upset 10 round majority decision victory over former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia last October, used speedy combinations to dominate Felix in a fight streamed on DAZN.
The final scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91. Boxing 247 had Martin winning 100-90, Felix was out of his class.
Ranked #4 WBA, #7 WBC, #12 WBO, Sandor is in a position to potentially battle for one of the light-welterweight titles once undisputed 140-lb champion Josh Taylor vacates his belts this year.
“I think both of us put on a good show,” said Sandor after the fight. “I’d not seen the fans like that for a long, long time. They were really up for the fight. I think we’re going into a new era in Spanish boxing, and I’m delighted these fans can come along with me.
Sandor Martin wants a world title shot
“I want to fight the best fighters in the world, [Jose] Ramirez, [Regis] Prograis, [Jose] Zepeda, [Teofimo] Lopez. I want to fight the best of them because I want to win a world title,” said Sandor Martin.
Sandor’s best chance potentially would be to fight for the World Boxing Association strap against #1 WBA Alberto Puello (20-0, 10 KOs). That would be a very winnable fight for Sandor if given the chance to battle the 27-year-old Puello for the WBA 140-lb belt.
It would be tougher for Sandor to beat Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, Jose Zepeda, Teofimo Lopez, or Jose Pedraza for any of the other three belts at 140. Those guys can punch, and have lots of experience against high-caliber opposition.
Sandor’s victory over a ring rusty and faded Mikey Garcia created a lot of interest in his career last October. We’ll need to see if Matchroom Boxing will be able to set Sandor up for a title shot.
What we saw from Sandor against Felix and Mikey, he’s capable of beating many top fighters at 140, but he’d be up against it if he faces Prograis, Ramirez, Pedraza, or Zepeda. They would chase Sandor around the ring, and take advantage of his lack of power to win rounds.
Matchroom will need to skillfully maneuver Sandor if they want him to pick up a title at 140 because he’s not likely to beat any of the top guys in the division given his lack of pop in his punches.
Frank Smith: “Sandor Martin deserves a world title shot”
“A great performance by Sandor. He was so accurate, and he’d had a long time out now, some six months since the Mikey Garcia fight,” said Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith after the fight in taking to Matchroom about Sandor Martinez’s impressive decision win over Jose Felix.
“It was a great performance and respect to Felix as well because he kept on coming, showed a lot of heart in there and a great chin. He got caught with a lot of shots, and like I said, he kept on coming in there. A big win for Sandor and some big nights from here.
“We just heard in an interview that he did with you that he wants all the big names, whether that’s Teofimo Lopez was one of them that he was talking about.
“I think the hard thing about him is people are going to avoid him. His boxing ability is so good that I don’t think a lot of people want to take the risk with him, but Mikey Garcia did the first time and we saw what happened there.
“Hopefully, we can get a big fight, work closely with the team and get something big delivered for him because he deserves a world title shot after tonight,” said Frank Smith of Sandor.
In the chief support bout last Friday night, super flyweight Samuel Carmona (7-0, 4 KOs) beat the tough Joel Cordova (13-6-2, 3 KOs) by a narrow 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 97-93, 96-93, and 96-94.
