Bigtime Filipino boxing prospect Carl Jammes Martin will be debuting in the American continent on Friday against Mexican battle-tested Anthony Jimenez Salas in a non-title super bantamweight bout at Culican, Sinoloa, Mexico. The 25-year-old Lagawe, Ifugao warrior will be bringing his unbeaten win-loss record of 23-0 with 18 knockouts to be the Mexican country as starts his journey of becoming a world champion next year after moving to the United States six months ago.
“I feel this is the right time to fight and prove myself. This is the time to show that I am ready after being trained in the Knuckleheads Boxing Ranch compound in Las Vegas, Nevada,” Martin said. “This is what I need to take me to the world title in 2025.”
“I would like to thank Manny Pacquiao, Sean Gibbons, and then my team for all the help in my move to Las Vegas, the high-altitude training and conditioning that I have been throughout my stay in the US to improve myself,” Martin added.
Martin has been honing his skills in Las Vegas since a few months ago, taking on world-class fighters Bruce “Shushu” Carrington and another Filipino-American prospect DJ Zamora, among others, in sparring sessions.
“He has been sensational training and working with the best boxers coming in the Knuckleheads gym everyday. They are seeing his diet and training workouts. By coming to the US, he’s there to improve more his craft and be a global boxing star, a world champion,” Sean Gibbons said.
Gibbons, Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions president and international matchmaker, said that Martin is the last of the best Philippine prospects, helped by the MP Promotions to train in the United States.
“Martin is a diamond in the rough or has a great potential to be a world champion. Just like the other Filipino boxers, he is a promising individual, has the talent, the attitude, and the skills to follow in the footsteps of former world Filipino champions,” Gibbons added.
Martin is presently ranked No. 3 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and No. 6 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Salas, 28, is a very tough brawler from Mazatlan, Mexico. He sports an 18-9-1 win-loss-draw record with five knockouts.
“Carl Martin will be carrying the tradition of a great rivalry between Philippines versus Mexico. He looks forward to carrying on that tradition,” Gibbons said.