Julio Cesar Martinez demonstrated again on Saturday why the great 115-pounders had better watch their backs.
Martinez, making the third defense of his WBC 112-pound title, knocked out Joel Cordova in the sixth round in Guadalajara, Mexico, the home country of both fighters.
Cordova (12-5-2, 3 KOs) gave Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) problems in the early rounds as he eluded many of the champion’s punches and landed some of his own. However, by the fourth round, Martinez figured out Cordova and took control of the fight.
In Round 6, Martinez put Cordova down with a left hand and then pounced on him again once he got to his feet. He was pounding Cordova in a corner when the referee stopped the fight.
“He was tougher than I expected. We are all here to win,” Martinez said through a translator.
Martinez said he wants to stay at 112 for now to unify titles. However, he has said in the past that his goal is to tangle with the likes of Roman Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada, who fight at 115.
You can bet they took notice of his work on Saturday.