Lester Martinez is daring to be great and be a pioneer at the same time. Not only has he traded punches and combinations during sparring sessions with Terence Crawford, but he is also hoping to be the first world titleholder from Guatemala. To continue on that journey, Martinez will have to get by former contender Carlos Gongora on Friday night at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC.
The 10-round bout will precede the main event bout between WBA junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach and challenger Feargal McCrory. Both fights will stream live on the ProBox TV YouTube page (8 p.m.
ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Martinez weighed in at 167.2 pounds. Gongora came in at 168.
8 pounds. Martinez (17-0, 15 knockouts) last fought on February 23 in his hometown of Guatemala City, dropping Ruben Angulo twice en route to a second round knockout win. In his previous fight on July 12, Martinez dropped Lucas de Abreu multiple times before ending matters in round four.
The 28-year-old will face a significant step up in opposition in Gongora (22-2, 17 KOs). He burst on the boxing scene in December 2020, knocking out highly-regarded Ali Akhmedov. Gongora would then lose a close split-decision to Lerrone Richards and to Christian Mbilli in recent fights.
With a lot on the line, Martinez understands what a win over Gongora would do for his career. “Carlos Gongora is my strongest and most complicated opponent to date,” Martinez told The Ring on Tuesday night. .
