Julio Cesar Martinez vs Angelino Cordova Preview December 16th, 2023
WBC Flyweight Champion Julio Cesar Martinez of Mexico defends his title against undefeated Angelino Cordova of Venezuela this Saturday, December 16th. The 12-rounder from Minneapolis, Minnesota can be seen live in America on Showtime. Martinez last fought in May when he stopped Ronal Batista in the 11th round. Cordova was last in the ring in April when he upset Angel Acosta for the vacant WBO International Flyweight Title via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Martinez vs Cordova Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Angelino Cordova +350
- Julio Cesar Martinez -500
My Pick
The 28-year-old Martinez stopped former champion Cristofer Rosales in the ninth round in December, 2019 to win his flyweight belt and beat Jay Harris by unanimous decision in his first defence three months later before stopping Moises Calleros in the second round in October, 2020 and Joel Cordova in six rounds in June, 2021. He then faced McWilliams Arroyo in November, 2021 but after Arroyo was dropped in the first and second rounds and Martinez was down in round one, the fight was stopped in the third and ruled a no-contest after Arroyo was nailed with an accidental headbutt.
After that, Martinez stepped up in weight to fight Roman Gonzalez in March, 2023 but actually came in too heavy and wasn’t able to win the vacant WBC Diamond Super Flyweight Title and was dominated by ‘Chocolatito’ in the fight. Martinez originally believed he won his flyweight title in August, 2019 when he stopped WBC Champ Charlie Edwards in three rounds. However, that fight was eventually ruled a no-contest also as Martinez landed on Edwards while he had a knee on the canvas.
After posting wins over Samuel Carmona by majority decision and Batista the last time out, Martinez now carries around an official record of 20-2 with 15 Ko’s. He stands 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 64-inch reach and has pretty good power in his fists as 75 per cent of his triumphs have come by way of stoppage. He also posted nine straight stoppages until Jay Harris took him the distance in 2020 but has just one stoppage in the last four fights as he’s gone 2-1 with a no-contest. Martinez made his pro debut in 2015 and has boxed 123 rounds since. His first defeat was a four-round split decision to Joaquin Cruz in his pro debut which was avenged with an eight-round majority decision the next year. He’s also beaten the likes of former world champion Edgar Sosa as well as Martin Tecuapetla, Andrew Selby, Victor Ruiz and Juan Lopez Martinez.
As for the 28-year-old Cordova, he makes the ring walk with a near-perfect mark of 18-0-1 with 12 Ko’s and has boxed 85 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017 following an amateur career which saw him fight in the World Series of Boxing. He measures 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach which gives him a two-inch edge in height and a 1.5-inch advantage in reach over Martinez. Cordova has enough power in his arsenal to cause some damage as his current knockout ratio comes in at 66.7 per cent and he’s won eight of his last 11 fights by stoppage.
But before he’s hailed as the next great thing in boxing, you should be aware that just three of Cordova’s 18 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record so he’s taking a gigantic leap in class against Acosta. However, the same was true when he met Angel Acosta and he edged him on the scorecards after having a point deducted for rabbit punching in round four. The lone blemish on Cordova’s record is a four-round draw with Luis Guatache in 2017. He also won the vacant WBO Latino Light Flyweight Belt in 2022 with a 10-round split decision over Axel Vega.
Prediction…
Martinez was pretty much dominated by Roman Gonzalez last year but he bounced back with his wins over Carmona and Batista. Still, he hasn’t really fought up to his potential lately and will need to make sure he’s ready for Cordova as he will have some confidence and momentum going for him following his win over Angel Acosta. As long as Martinez can make weight, doesn’t underestimate Cordova’s skills and power and is well prepared, he should do enough to come out on top.
Martinez’s power and experience should be the difference here.
Play: Julio Cesar Martinez -500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Angelino Cordova betting • Julio Cesar Martinez betting