Carl Jammes Martin Barges Into Locked and Loaded 122 Lbs Rating
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 17 May 2021
Carl Jammes Martin (C).
Youthful Ifugao boxing prodigy Carl Jammes Martin has finally made it into the locked and loaded super bantamweight world rating coming jn at #15 in the latest ranking of the World Boxing Oeganization (WBO).
The 21 year old undefeated Martin thus joined five other Filipino fighters who either kept or even improved on their world rankings in the 122 lbs weight class.
The other Pinoy world rated super bantams are former WBO bantamweight titlist Marlon Tapales who at #4 is the second highest contender in the IBF ranking just next to #3 Hiroaki Teshigawara of Japan as the top two slots are vacant, ex world title challenger Jeo Santisima who is ranked #5 by WBO, fast rising Mike Plania who is at #8 in the WBA and #9 in the IBF and Asia regional titlist Jhunriel Ramonal who is rated #13 by the WBC and #15 by the IBF. Returning to the world rating is former WBO interconrinental titlist Albert Pagara who is back at #13 in the WBO.
Getting world title crack in the division however will take some time for any of these Pinoy campaigners as possible unification series are in the offing. Brandon Figueroa this weekend added Luis Nery's WBC belt to his WBA regular title via 7th round KO and is slated to face WBO champion Stephen Fulton later in the year. The winner would be meeting WBA super titlist and IBF champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev for all the marbles so to speak maybe early next year.
Brandon made up for the disappointing showing of his elder brother Omar Figueroa against Abel Ramos in their welterweight title eliminator fight two weekends ago by forcing Nery to an entertaining slugfest last Saturday night, dismantling the tough Mexican two division champion with debilitating body shots on the way to scoring a knockout.
It was virtually a war of attrition as the two showed little boxing science and technique relying more on their toughness and strength in exchanging blows almost non stop from the opening bell. Figueroa later exposed and exploited Nery's main weakness which was vulnerability to body attack.
The good or bad news depending on how one looks at the situation is whoever emerges among Figueroa, Fulton and Akhmadaliev would be the one, universally recognized world champion of the division that in the past launched such fighters as Wilfredo Gomez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales and Manny Pacquiao to boxing stardom.
Any of the three champions are formidable enough and yet getting a crack against them is virtually like negotiating a mine field as they are surrounded by dangerous top rated contenders as Reese Aleem, Carlos Castro and Teshigawara as well as ex titlists as Isaac Dogboe, Yukinori Oguni, Danny Roman, Angelo Leo and Nery himself. And there are spoilers as Arnold Khegai, Kenji Iwasa and Azat Hovhannisyan.
Tapales lost to Iwasa by controversial punch cum head butt in their IBF title eliminator in 2019 but Tapales has bounced back by scoring an impressive first round knockout over former world title challenger Eden Sonsona late last year. Tapales thus is still highly regarded given his lofty ranking by the IBF.
Plania who lost only once in his career thus far was also impressive chalking up consecutive wins in the USA including over Giovanni Gutierrez for the vacant IBF North America title and Joshua Greer and Emmanuel Mogawa.
Ramonal likewise registered back to back knockout wins in Japan over then world rated Japanese fighters in the recent year.
Meanwhile, Santisima extended then WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete into the last round before succumbing to a TKO defeat last year. The undefeated Navarrete is now the WBO featherweight king.
These Pinoy 122 pounders therefore have the credentials to aspire for the world title if the opportunity arises in the future but they have to continue winning and improving.
But Martin and Pagara particularly have to step up not only on their performance but the level and quality of their opposition to earn their stripes so to say.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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