Martin cruises to one-sided rout of Rivera in lightweight title eliminator
Shishkin and Astrolabio also win eliminators on Showtime undercard
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Lightweight Frank Martin scored a seventh-round knockdown and cruised to a surprisingly one-sided rout of Michel Rivera in a battle of unbeaten contenders that headlined a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Showtime on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Martin and Rivera, who were both on the rise and stepping up in opposition, put their perfect records on the line against a dangerous opponent far earlier in their careers than is usual and it was Martin’s gamble that paid off as he won the WBA title eliminator handily.
The judges had it 120-107, 118-109 and 117-110. Fight Freaks Unite also had it for Martin, 119-108.
Rivera simply could not deal with Martin’s superior speed, movement and southpaw style and his corner knew it, telling him as soon as after the sixth round that the fight was already getting to the point where he would need a knockout to win.
“This is just what I do. I felt good tonight,” said Martin, who is promoted by unified welterweight titlist Errol Spence Jr., with whom he shares trainer Derrick James. “There were some things that I saw in there that I didn't capitalize on, but we went in there and got the job done.”
The fight was never in doubt as Martin dominated. He landed numerous solid straight left hands and took very little return fire.
“I went in there for a win. I didn’t come here to lose,” Rivera said. “I was feeling pretty good today, but by round four or five, I think I started to feel the effects of the weight cut. I don’t make excuses, but I’m a big guy for the division.”
Time and again, Martin forced Rivera to toward the ropes and let combinations go. By the end of the sixth round Martin had opened a small cut under Rivera’s right eye.
“In the corner Derrick was telling me to stay on the outside, watch out for the right hand and work the game plan,” Martin said. “I was using my legs and I could have done it a lot more. It worked for us tonight, but there's a lot of room for improvement and we're going to keep working.”
In the seventh round, Martin landed a quick straight left hand-right hook combination that knocked Rivera to his rear end. It was just the second time in his career that Rivera had been knocked down.
“I’m pretty fast, but you have to be faster to fight a guy like this. I was too slow tonight,” Rivera said. “I tried to use my jab to keep him off me. He was the better guy today. I won’t take anything away from him. I don’t want to learn how to lose. I’m just going to work hard to win again. I don’t want losing to feeling normal. I work to win.”
After the ninth round, Rivera’s corner once again told him he needed a knockout to win, but he never came close to doing any damage to Martin, who closed the fight as strong as he started.
In the 11th round, he rocked Rivera with a left uppercut and later in the round he landed a hard counter left hand. By the end of the round, Rivera’s left eye was swelling.
Martin’s dominance was reflected in the CompuBox statistics as he landed 174 of 561 punches (31 percent) and Rivera landed just 67 of 439 (15 percent).
Martin (17-0, 12 KOs), 27, of Indianapolis, outlanded Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, in every round except the first round, when they each were credited with landing six blows. Rivera did not land double digits in any round, landing only as many as eight punches in the fifth and sixth rounds, while Martin landed an average of 15 shots per round.
“I just believe in myself and I believe in our team,” Martin said. “We know what we’re doing and we’re working consistently. We believed in it and believed that we’re ready for any of the top fighters, so let us get them. We're ready to eat.”
Martin said he has learned a lot working alongside Spence as well as undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo in their Dallas gym.
“It’s a blessing and they keep me going,” Martin said. “I’m always watching Errol when he’s sparring and I’m always asking questions and looking to get better. Seeing champions on top like them, I’m getting nothing but game from them.”
With the win secured, Martin said he wants even bigger fights.
“We want all of them. (Secondary titlist) Gervonta Davis, (undisputed champion) Devin Haney, we're ready,” Martin said. “Let's make it happen.”
Shishkin outpoints Uzcategui
In the co-feature, Vladimir Shishkin won a hard-fought unanimous decision against former titleholder Jose Uzcategui in an IBF title elimination fight.
Shishkin won 117-111, 117-111 and 115-113 to move a step closer to becoming one of the mandatory challengers for undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez.
“I came to America, and I’ve been living here for the last few years, to reach my goal and become world champion,” said Shishkin, a Russia native living in Detroit. “This is a big step in that direction. It was a big chance for me and I took advantage of it.
“I felt in control throughout the fight. I’m on a higher level now, so the fights are going to be tougher. He pushed me hard. It was something new for me.”
Uzcategui (32-5, 27 KOs), 31, a Mexico-based Venezuelan, came on strong in the later rounds as a tiring Shishkin (14-0, 8 KOs), 31, began to fade, but it was too little, too late even though Uzcategui said he thought he won.
“I think I did enough to win the fight, but the judges didn’t see it that way,” Uzcategui said. “He was clutching and grabbing me and pulling me in, and I was never able to get enough clean shots.”
Shishkin landed 238 of 750 punches (32 percent) and Uzcategui connected with 162 of 520 (31 percent). Shishkin outlanded Uzcategui in every round.
“This was the biggest win of his career so far and it’s what he’s been waiting on,” said SugarHill Steward, Shishkin’s trainer. “He's been working hard and I think that the extra time between fights helped him out.
“I’m happy with the way he performed. I’d be happy if he jabbed even more and that’s something that he’ll work on more. That’s what these fights are for. He’s going to keep working and getting better. I want him to box and be strong, Kronk style.”
After the victory, Shishkin pronounced himself ready for anyone.
“I want all the big names at 168 pounds,” he said. “Canelo is the champion right now and I'll be ready to give him all he can handle.”
Astrolabio KOs Potapov
The Manny Pacquiao-promoted Vincent Astrolabio made his United States debut by winning the biggest fight of his career in the Showtime opener.
Astrolabio scored three knockdowns en route to a one-sided sixth-round knockout of Nikolai Potapov in an IBF bantamweight title eliminator that puts him in the mandatory position.
Naoya Inoue, who knocked out Paul Butler on Tuesday in Japan to become the undisputed 118-pound champion, said after the fight that he will move up to junior featherweight for his next fight, which means Astrolabio will be in position to fight for the soon-to-be-vacant IBF title.
Astrolabio (18-3, 13 KOs), 25, of the Philippines, dropped Potapov (23-3-1, 11 KOs), 32, a Russian fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, in the first and fifth rounds before dropping him to a knee with a right hand for the full count from referee Robert Hoyle at 1 minute, 26 seconds of the sixth round.
Astrolabio landed 74 of 236 punches (31 percent) and Potapov landed 58 of 225 (26 percent).
The win was the second notable one in a row for Astrolabio, who came into the bout coming off an upset 10-round decision over former bantamweight and junior featherweight titlist Guillermo Rigondeaux, whom he knocked down and beat 95-94 on all three scorecards in February in Dubai.
“I’m very happy with the victory. This was my first time in the U.S. and I’m thankful to Manny Pacquiao and my whole team for this opportunity,” Astrolabio said. “I felt very strong against my opponent. Just like I did against Guillermo Rigondeaux, and that gave me confidence for this fight.
"I will fight whoever I’m able to, but my dream is to become world champion. I want to fight for the belts. I’m so thankful that I had this (fight) and that I was able to give everyone a knockout. This is the biggest moment of my career and I'm going to keep pushing to fight the best."
Potapov made no excuses.
“I don’t really have anything to say about my performance,” Potapov said. “He was the better fighter tonight.”
Photo: Esther Lin/Showtime
Please upgrade your subscription here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
bold opinion here but i think Frank Martin vs Tank Davis is a great match. Also one that Martin could win😬