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Julio Cesar Martinez-McWilliams Arroyo added to Canelo-Yildirim undercard on February 27

Julio Cesar Martinez (left) overwhelmed Moises Calleros. Photo by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
Fighters Network
25
Jan

Julio Cesar Martinez will defend his WBC flyweight title against McWilliams Arroyo on February 27, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced Monday afternoon.

The 12-round bout will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida and will precede the main event between Ring Magazine super middleweight champion and unified titleholder Canelo Alvarez and WBC mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim.

Both fights will stream live on DAZN.

Martinez (17-1 1 NC, 13 knockouts) was scheduled to make the third defense of the WBC title against countryman Francisco Rodriguez on December 19, which would have been the co-feature bout on the Alvarez-Callum Smith card at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. However, Martinez was pulled from that card “due to a non-COVID related illness.”



The Mexico City star, who is rated No. 2 by The Ring at 112 pounds, last fought on October 23, stopping late-sub Moises Calleros in two rounds. The title was only on the line for Martinez, however, as Calleros weighed 5.5 pounds over the limit.

Martinez is trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also works with Alvarez, Oscar Valdez, Luis Nery, Ryan Garcia, Andy Ruiz and heavyweight prospect Frank Sanchez.

In his last bout, in December 2019, Arroyo (20-4, 15 KOs), who resides in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, stopped Juan Gabriel Medina of the Dominican Republic at the end of Round 5. He has won his last three fights since losing a unanimous decision to Kazuto Ioka in September 2018.

The 35-year-old is the twin brother of former IBF junior bantamweight titleholder McJoe Arroyo. He is rated No. 10 by The Ring at flyweight and is the WBC’s mandatory challenger.

Also scheduled to take place on the February 27 card is a 10-round heavyweight bout between unbeaten heavyweight Zhilei Zhang (22-0, 17 KOs) and Jerry Forrest (26-4, 20 KOs).

 

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

 

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