Lester Martinez hopes to put his elite training and sparring to the test vs. Joeshon James

Lester Martinez can thank all his trainers for his ascent up the ladder of the super middleweight division.

That also includes one of the best fighters in the world today.

Martinez, rated No. 8 by The Ring at 168 pounds, will face Joeshon James tonight at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round bout will headline a four-bout card that will stream live on the ProBox TV YouTube page and its app as well (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

The 28-year-old (18-0, 15 knockouts), who resides in Guatemala City, Guatemala, has improved his skill-set through many factors, including being trained by Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, Esau Dieguez, and Red Spikes. All three train newly-crowned WBA world junior middleweight and former two-time undisputed champion Terence Crawford.

Martinez has also had the opportunity to recently spar Crawford. A few months ago, a photo circulated through social media of the two sparring in a ring at a Las Vegas-area gym. Crawford has also taken it upon himself to work the mitts with Martinez, further adding more elements to Martinez’s game to compliment his power.

“Each trainer has a different variation or style that they work with me during a session,” Martinez told The Ring on Sunday. “One will work with me on distance, another will work with me on how to utilize pressure during certain parts of a fight. Also one will work on lateral movement, and later that day, a different trainer will work with me on throwing multiple combinations. A different trainer will work with me on throwing compact punches on the inside, followed by throwing a variation of combinations. It’s helped me a lot. I’ve learned a lot from each one of them.”

“After the Madrimov fight, Terence spends time in the gym. There’s times when he picks up the mitts and he helps me with my combinations. It’s a great luxury to have someone like him work with me or to watch me train and offer his point of view, whether it’s on shadow-boxing or with throwing combinations. He’s helped me and I’ve learned a great deal from him. He demonstrates why he is a champion.”

Tonight’s clash against James is a compelling fight between two unbeaten fighters. James (9-0-2, 5 KOs), who resides in Sacramento, has faced six unbeaten fighters thus far in his career. Within a 13-month period, James faced unbeaten fighters, notching knockout wins over prospects Richard Brewart and David Stevens.

In his last bout on February 16, James defeated gatekeeper Vaughn Alexander by unanimous decision.

There had been rumors of Martinez facing Bektemir Melikuziev later, also rated in the Top 10 by The Ring, in a clash of hard-hitting super middleweights. Despite this, Martinez has remained focused on James and the task at hand.

“I know he’s going to come to fight,” said Martinez, who stopped Ricardo Mayorga in his pro debut in April 2019. “I know he has less fights as a pro than I do, but he’s still dangerous. I expect him to be at his best when he steps inside the ring with me.”

In his last bout on June 28, Martinez scored a one-sided and impressive victory over contender Carlos Gongora. The win over Gongora solidified Martinez’s standing in the division and allowed him to crack the Top 10 in The Ring ratings.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Martinez. “It may have looked that way, but it was not. Winners are made in the gym. At times I was frustrated in the fight because I hit him, and he wouldn’t go down. It was a team effort, we worked hard as a team and we were able to beat a top fighter in Gongora.”

Martinez also has knockout victories over Lucas de Abreu and once-beaten Isaiah Steen.

Should he defeat James, Martinez believes he is ready to face the upper echelon of the division. Martinez believes his activity, the manner he has beaten very good opposition, and having a stellar stable of trainers puts him in a position to be victorious.

“It’s very difficult. Fighters say they want to move up and face the best, but I’ve demonstrated I am ready. Whenever and wherever, I would like to face the best. That includes (Ring champion) Canelo (Alvarez), (Caleb) Plant, (Edgar) Berlanga, (David) Benavidez. Anything can happen, but I do want those big fights.”

Martinez hopes to one day make history and become the first fighter from Guatemala to win a world title belt. Despite there being diehard soccer aficionados, many people are taking notice of Martinez and his ascent in the sport.

With his aggressive style and knockout power, fans in Guatemala, the United States and abroad have gravitated towards Martinez, who is grateful for the support.

“I’ve been in the sport for 16 years and I’ve seen the sport grow in Guatemala. I feel honored to be a part of that, and to see boxing events become more common in the country.

“As far as I know, I have fans in Guatemala that support me. Boxing fans in the United States have approached me well. Mexicans who are boxing fans also follow my career. I’ve even had people as far away as Ireland reach out to me about my style as well.

“I appreciate the support and I’m grateful for where I’m at in my career. I’m very much motivated to continue putting Guatemala on the boxing map.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

Follow @FSalazarBoxing