Unbeaten Cordillera prospect Carl Jammes Martin will be back inside the ring on March 12 at the Elorde Sports Center in Parañaque City to defend his Philippine Games and Amusement Board super bantamweight title.
At the same time, the 22-year-old Martin’s bout against Ronnie Baldonado of Cotabato will be a battle for the vacant World Boxing Association Asia super bantamweight belt.
Martin has been cross training in various gyms in Metro Manila ahead of the championship bout with Baldonado who has 15 wins with nine by way of knockout, two losses, and one draw in his resume.
The pride of Lagawe, Ifugao hopes to sustain his winning streak, as he remains undefeated in 18 professional bouts since 2015. Martin has stopped 15 of his opponents via knockout and technical knockout.
The last time Martin saw action was in Dec. 14, 2021 when he won via unanimous decision against former GAB super bantamweight champion Mark Anthony Geraldo who has 38 wins, nine losses, and three draws.
The Martin camp is stepping up with its training, as Baldonado is a tested boxer having won regional (Southeast Asia) belts several years ago.
Baldonado won the interim World Boxing Organization Oriental flyweight title via TKO against Yiming Ma of China in April 27, 2017 and defended the same belt against Iwan Zoda in Sept. 29, 2017.
The upcoming bout will be the seventh fight outside of Northern Luzon for Martin, who had more than 10 fights within Ifugao and nearby Cagayan region. His last six fights were held in various locations such as National Capital Region, Laguna, and Cebu City.
The Cordilleran boxer is not new to fighting for regional titles.
He previously won the WBO Oriental Youth, WBO Asia, and the interim World Boxing Council Oriental Youth in the bantamweight division before moving up to the super bantamweight. – Harley F. Palangchao
