As a four year pro, undefeated California super bantamweight champion Christopher “S.D. Kid” Martin (18-0-2, 5KOs) knows exactly why he got the call to face the hard hitting up and coming sensation Chris Avalos (16-0, 13KOs) on Friday, August 6th, on Showtime‘s ShoBox: The Next Generation. What the powers that be don’t know is that he is planning on turning the tables.
“I know that coming in but its actually going to be the other way around. It is going to be about what I can do and what i am capable of,” the confident Martin of Chula Vista, CA, said after an intense training session. “I understand that he has been on Showtime three times and they are picking an opponent with no pop, let’s say, but he is just going to get out-boxed and if he’s not prepared, he is going to get stopped in the ninth or tenth round.”
The ten round bantamweight bout is presented by Gary Shaw Promotions and will be held at the Grand Casino in Hinkley, MN.
After a rather unsuccessful amateur career where Martin lost slightly more than half of his twenty-eight unpaid fights, the 24-year-old married father of almost two boys (his newlywed wife is due with their second son only a couple of weeks after his Showtime debut), Martin has found success in the professional ranks not tasting defeat in twenty bouts. Martin turned to the punch for bucks trade in ’06 with a unanimous decision over Rogelio Lopez.
“I was about to be twenty, it was the plan to go pro for that year, it was something that we had been working up to,” Martin, who started boxing at fourteen, said. “Leading up to it, I was nervous, scared. I got to talk to people that have done it. I was training up in El Monte with John Molina and he gave me some tips that gave me the confidence to go up there.”
In his twenty fight ledger, Martin owns wins over Gregorio Torres, journeyman Trinidad Mendoza, Torrance Daniels and the previously undefeated Eduardo Arcos. His toughest fight so far came at the fists of the durable Paulino Villalobos.
“The hardest fight I had was against Paulino Villalobos. I dropped him in the second round, he landed on his face, I thought ‘this fight is over,’” Martin says with a chuckle. “He got up and rocked me in the same round and from there on, it was back and forth. I couldn’t get him off me, it was hard.”
Martin has built a steady following in his hometown of San Diego with five of his last six fights in his hometown. Many of those have been in the super bantamweight division as Martin challenged and won the California title last year and in his last bout, going as far up as featherweight where he earned a nearly shutout unanimous decision over Adolfo Landeros last June. With his clash with Avalos in the 118 lbs. division, Martin does not think he will have problem cutting down to bantamweight.
“The last fight we had about three weeks notice and I was adjusting to a new schedule at work, working nights, so it was really hard to wake up early to run,” Martin explains. “I got up like six times during those three weeks to run because I couldn’t get up. For this fight, I am more prepared, I have been running everyday, everything is clicking.”
Like many fighters who are climbing the ladder, Martin holds a day job or in his case, a night one as a correctional officer for over two years for a detention center in the southern part of the city. His ten years in learning the craft of the sweet science has prepared him for when he is surrounded by hardened criminals.
It has helped me to just to keep my composure with people. For the most part, I have always been calm with people,” the eloquent Martin states. “Taken care of up to eighty inmates at a time and they can turn against you in a split second, I feel confident in myself, in how to defend myself, how to get out of situations. It’s a confidence booster.”
Despite making his Showtime debut next Friday, Martin is no stranger to the camera lens as he has performed on Telefutura several times with his last appearance in the main event against Landeros. Because of this, Martin has experienced his fair share of fame outside and inside the detention walls.
“The Telefutura fight was on TV and some of them saw it,” Martin says about being recognized by his charges. “They would say ‘hey, CO, we saw you on the TV.’ Sometimes, since my dad works there as well, he takes posters of when I am going to fight and word gets around. The detainees, the inmates, see them and they bring it up. They show respect most of the time.”
Many believe that despite being surrounded by men that have no regard for the law on a daily basis, Martin is in for his toughest night yet when he faces the nineteen-year-old Avalos on Friday. For Martin, it is his time to shine.
“I see these guys on TV, Chris Avalos, Rico Ramos and at featherweight, Charles Huerta, all these guys in California, I want to prove that I am better than,” Martin says. “On paper my record seems soft, I guess, 18 and 0, five knockouts. I know that I have power, I just haven’t proved it like they have but I know that I can beat every single one of them. Chris Avalos is the perfect style for me to beat and show what I can do.”
Martin, who no doubt has studied Avalos previous fights, feels that in spite of his lack of power, he has the next best thing, speed.
“He comes forward, he’s one-dimensional and in my opinion he is slow footed. I just think he is going to be behind me the whole fight,” he says confidently. “Just the fact he is going to get frustrated when I am sitting right there in front of him and he can’t hit me. He is going to be throwing all that leather, I’ll be right in front of his face and he won’t be able to hit me, not one clean shot and its going to be coming back right at him.”
Martin will put San Diego in the spot light better than Terry Norris ever did. No disrespect to Terry.
Your trippen Terry Norris is a legend that retired Sugar Ray Lenard!! Chris Martin is a Bum!!! And he better keep his day job, because his boxing career will end soon. Thank God.
Norris legendary ??? Are you kidding ?? He couldn’t knock out a faded 34 year old Leonard.
Christopher Martin turned down a fight against Charles Huerta??? WHY???
Christopher has fought nothing but BUMS he needs to step in the ring with Charles Huerta and prove he is the best featherweight in southern California.
So many haters it’s crazy but that fact your talking about my boy says it all. I have trained with and known Chris for 5 years, He has all the talent and heart to be the best fighter in the world in his weight class period.Our whole camp can get down stop hating pay respect and appreciate what sandiego hasnt had in terms of talent since Terry Norris. Chris is headed to the top where he will stay for along time I just hope to ride in on his coat tails !!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Chad: what do you know? You sound like some guy who lost his chance and now is glorifying some looser just like yourself !!!
Hey Chad, you are looser !! Your time has passed, why don’t you go to some retirement home! Haha. Let the champs fight out it. Stop pretending looser !!!
Chris is a great boxer, I have a kid 14-2 9ko’s 122 lbs. He is getting his Visa next week. I want to challenge Martin’s people to fight Leopoldo Gonzalez EL FEROZ” this kid will stop Chris in a heart beat. First we have a meeting Aug, 20th with Franky Leal, then we will get Martin.