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By Craig Page: Michel Rivera will face Frank Martin on December 17th live on SHOWTIME in a WBA 135-lb world title eliminator.
The winner of the Rivera vs. Martin will be the mandatory challenger for Devin Haney’s lightweight champion.
With the 23-year-old Haney packing on the pounds, it is doubtful that he will continue to compete in the 135-lb division when the World Boxing Association orders the WBA champion to defend against the winner of Rivera-Martin if. They don’t promote the winner to champion if Devin gives up his belt.
This is a tough match-up for the 27-year-old ‘The Ghost’ Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) who will be taken on this stage by a fighter in the 24-year-old unbeaten ‘La Zarza Ali’ Rivera ( 24-0, 14 KOs).
#10 WBA Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) has not fought anyone close to Rivera’s level during his five year career. It will be a make-or-break fight for Frank, who did not impress in his most recent 10-round stoppage over Jackson Marinez last July.
Southpaw Martin was getting clean from Marinez the entire fight, and it was his power that carried him into this match as things hurt him badly early on.
Rivera is ranked WBA #2, IBF #6, WBO #10, and WBC #12, and has recent wins over the following fighters:
- Jerry Perez
- Joseph Adorno
- Jose Matias Romero
- Jon Fernandez
- Anthony Mercado Rais
- Ladarius Miller
- Rene Tellez Giron
So far, the division’s best win for Michel Rivera was against the tough Joseph Adorno in a 10-round decision last March. Rivera took Adorno to school, influencing him from start to finish.
The 24-year-old Rivera is already better than Ryan Garcia, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, Jamaine Ortiz, and William Zepeda and probably better than what we’ve seen from Vasyl Lomachenko.
Rivera is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and currently resides in Miami, Florida.
With Haney likely to bail out of the 135-lb division soon, Rivera could be promoted to WBA champion if he defeats Martin on December 17th.
Martin, 27, is promoted by Errol Spence Jr. and has received a lot of attention due to his frequent mentions of the 147-lb champion.
Frank Martin has wins over the following fighters:
- Romero Duno – TKO 4
- Jackson Marinez – TKO 10
- Ryan Kielczweski – UD 10
- Jerry Perez
Martin is a good fighter, but he went too far in his fight with Michel Rivera, which would end him badly.
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