By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
It took 17 years for Jesus “Panterita” Martinez to compete in his first pro boxing match.
His second pro bout will come 15 days after the first.
Martinez (1-0) announced Sunday on his Facebook page that his next fight would take place Saturday, June 25, at the Tech Port Center and Arena in San Antonio. Fans wishing to purchase tickets for the event should go online and visit techportcenter.com and click on the “Buy Tickets” button under the “Rodriguez vs Rungvisai” banner. Use the code Panterita upon checkout. Tickets are currently priced at $35 to $350.
Martinez’s opponent for June 25 has not yet been announced.
Martinez defeated Daniel Nuñez Gomez by unanimous decision June 10 in his first professional bout. The fight was part of the Matchroom boxing series held in Guadalajara, Mexico and aired on dazn.com.
Martinez’s San Antonio bout will also be a part of the Matchroom series and will air on DAZN. The fights are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
The main event of the evening will be Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (15-0, 10 Kos) defending his WBC World Super-Flyweight title against Srisaket Sor Rungsivai (50-5-1, 43 Kos). Other title fights scheduled for the evening include Murodjon Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7 KOs) versus Ronny Rios (33-3, 16 KOs) for the WBA and IBF World Super-Bantamweight titles, and Jessica McCaskill (11-2, 4 KOs) versus Aba Ibarra (10-1, 5 KOs) for the undisputed world welterweight titles. Nine fights in total are scheduled for the card.
The choice of location for Martinez’s next fight was high on his wish list. In an interview with the 830 Times June 15, Martinez said he would love to fight as close to home as possible. At the top of that list was San Antonio.
“It’s the biggest city closest to us. I have a lot of friends and family there and I know many more would travel there to watch a fight,” Martinez said.
While Martinez wore gold and blue trunks with white trim, the 17-year-old fighter said he would retire that gear and have it placed in a shadowbox as a memento of his first pro fight. As for what he will wear for his next fight, Martinez said he would get input from his family and training team to find the right look.
“I always want to stand out. I want to be flamboyant and be different from others. I want people to notice me and realize just how good at I can be at everything,” Martinez said.
Martinez amassed an amateur record of 137-9 and won 17 national and international championships. He will fight under the International Sports Group banner, founded by former world champion Joe Calzaghe and former middleweight champion Darren Barker.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
