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Lem’s latest: Chavez Jr. 176, Martinez 174 one month out

Fighters Network
17
Aug

WBC middleweight titleholderJulio Cesar Chavez Jr. and RING champion Sergio Martinez were at 176- and 174-pounds, respectively, for the WBC’s mandatory 30-day safety weigh-in for their Sept. 15 clash on HBO Pay Per View from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Chavez, 26, has a mark of 46-0-1 that includes 32 knockouts, and is coming off a seventh-round stoppage victory over southpaw challenger Andy Lee (28-1, 20 KOs) in June.

Martinez, 37, has a record of 49-2-2 that includes 28 stoppage wins, and was last in the ring for an 11th-round knockout victory over Matthew Macklin (28-4, 19 KOs).



On the Chavez Jr.-Martinez undercard, WBA junior featherweight beltholder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux (10-0, 8 KOs) will defend against Robert Marroquin (22-1, 15 KOs), and two-time middleweight title challenger Macklin takes on Haitian-born Joachim Alcine (33-2-1, 19 KOs).

In other bouts, Puerto Rican junior lightweight Roman “Rocky” Martinez (25-1-1, 16 KOs) will face Mexico’s Miguel Beltran Jr. (27-1, 17 KOs) for the WBO’s vacant belt, and Notre Dame graduate Mike Lee (10-0, 6 KOs), famous for his appearances in Subway commercials, will try to follow up his second-round knockout of Tyler Seever on Aug. 4.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA-IKE QUARTEY, SAUL ALVAREZ-JOSE MIGUEL COTTO TO AIR ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Fox Deportes Classic will air Oscar De La Hoya’s split-decision victory in defense of his WBC welterweight belt against Ike Quartey, a bout that featured a sixth-round knockdown by each fighter in February of 1999.

Prior to De La Hoya-Quartey, the network will broadcast the clash during which current WBC junior middleweight titleholcer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez overcame Puerto Rico’s Jose Miguel Cotto by ninth-round knockout in a non-title bout in May of 2010.

Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KOs) has a Sept. 15 defense of his belt opposite Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Saturday night’s show will begin at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

ROBERTO ORTIZ, GILBERTO RAMIREZ LOOK TO CONTINUE THEIR KNOCKOUT STREAKS ON AUG. 25

Junior welterweight Roberto Ortiz (25-0-1, 21 KOs), of Torreon, Mexico, will be after his 16th knockout in his past 18 fights, and southpaw middleweight Gilberto Ramirez (22-0, 19 KOs), of Mazatlan, his 15th stoppage in his past 16 outings when they take on separate opponents in an Aug. 25 double-header in Tulum, Mexico.

Ortiz will take on Colombia’s Florencio Castellano (17-5, 13 KOs), while Ramirez will battle Miami’s Richard Gutierrez (26-9-1, 16 KOs). Among Ortiz’s impressive stoppage victories are those in the fourth round over Anthony Lozada and Cesar Chavez, who were 23-0 and 18-1, respectively, when they met Ortiz.

Promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Ortiz, 26, and Gutierrez, 21, highlight an event that will be televised in Mexico on Televisa and in the United States on FOX Deportes. The event is co-promoted by Pepe Gomez Promotor Deportivo and sponsored by Corona, Periodico QueQui, Quintana Roo Tourism and Cancun Tourism.

Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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