Elijah Pierce vs Jose Sanmartin Preview August 30th 2023
Elijah Pierce of Oklahoma City will be battling it out with Colombia’s Jose Sanmartin this Friday, August 30th in a 10-round junior featherweight tilt. The fight from Atlanta, Georgia can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Pierce last fought when he got up off the canvas in the second round to stop Arthur Villanueva in the fourth round in March while Sanmartin beat Mauricio Martinez by an eight-round unanimous decision in February to snap a two-fight losing skid but he’s lost three of his past five fights.
**Watch live on DAZN this Friday. Your first month is free.
Pierce vs Sanmartin Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jose Sanmartin +450
- Elijah Pierce -700
My Pick
Pierce is a 26-year-old southpaw who has built up a record of 19-2 with 16 Ko’s and has fought a total of 83 rounds since turning pro in 2016 following his amateur career. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. He possesses plenty of power his fists as 84.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four of his past five.
Pierce’s first pro defeat came to Giovanni Cabrera in 2018 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision while his second loss came two fights later when he was edged in an eight-round majority decision to Sulaiman Segawa in September, 2019. His biggest wins have been against Mike Plania, who he stopped in three rounds last August, as well as Jesse Garcia, Daron Williams, Juan Carlos Pena and Tramaine Williams.
As for Sanmartin, he’s 31 years old and has fought 240 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011. He enters the ring with a mark of 35-8-1 with 21 Ko’s. He measures 5-feet-5-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up three inches in height to Lara. He’s got decent power as 60 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage but he’s halted just one of his last nine opponents and has a 6-3 record over that span. His lone draw was an eight-round affair with Devis Perez back in 2012 and he’s lost eight times as a pro but has been stopped just twice.
His defeats came at the hands of Hugo Berrio by unanimous decision in his pro debut; by 12-round unanimous decision to Carlos Zambrano in 2015 at a shot at the WBA interim Featherweight Title; to Luis Melendez by nine-round split decision in 2016 for the vacant Fedebol Super Bantamweight Title; by six-round disqualification to Tomas Rojas in 2016; by 12th-round knockout to Emanuel Navarrete in 2018; by third round TKO to Mauricio Lara in 2022 and by 10-round unanimous decision to Kevin Gonzalez and 10-round split decision to Shabaz Masoud last year.
Since turning pro, Sanmartin has captured the WBA Fedebol Super Bantamweight Title and the vacant WBA Fedecentro Super Bantamweight Crown when he beat David Carmona via a 10-round unanimous decision in 2021. He’s a solid pro with decent power and a good chin but hasn’t been able to get over the hump as of yet when moving up in class and has had a rough time of things in the ring over the past couple of years.
Prediction…
Sanmartin has fought stiffer opposition as a pro but has lost eight fights so it’s easy to see why he’s the underdog here. Pierce has the edge in height and power but Sanmartin has a pretty good chin so this should be an interesting contest. I am leaning towards Pierce though as he’s entering his prime boxing years at the age of 27 but he can’t take Sanmartin’s skills and power too lightly or he’ll pay for it.
Pierce has power and youth on his side.
Play Pierce -700 @ BetOnline.ag
Elijah Pierce betting • Jose Sanmartin betting