Main Event on Thompson Boxing’s “Locked N’ Loaded”
Welterweight Aron “El Asesino” Martinez took matters into his own hands Friday night as he closed out a seven-fight card with a stunning knockout of opponent Joshua “Superman” Marks in the seventh round of a scheduled eight. As the main attraction on Thompson Boxing Promotions’ “Locked N’ Loaded” show held at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, the local fighter engaged in a competitive and entertaining brawl versus El Centro’s Marks.
Martinez (17-1-1, 4 KOs) and the southpaw Marks (8-4, 8 KOs) certainly gave the crowd their money’s worth as the two went back and forth in their fistic feud. Aron scored two knockdowns in the battle, but his game challenger found success in catching the SoCal favorite with some hard hits of his own. Martinez, trained by “Big Yuca” Morales and “Little Yuca” Morales out of the tough Maywood gym, had to dig deep to finish his foe. In the seventh stanza, he stepped on the gas pedal and showcased his newfound power shots with a right-left combo that sent Marks down for good as referee Raul Caiz Jr. tended to the stricken fighter, lying prone on the canvas.
With this win and a fourth KO on his record, Thompson prizefighter Martinez says he’s happy his hard work (in adding more knockout power to his arsenal) is starting to pay off. He’s now on a nine-win hot streak and plans on adding more to his ledger.
Catching up with the Roosevelt High School alum, the East L.A. boxer talked about his latest victory, what it’s like sparring with his younger brother, Aalan Martinez (also a pro fighter at featherweight), and how he’s inspired to gain more power in his game.
After congratulating him on his big win, I asked Martinez his thoughts about the rumble, which had the audience roaring in appreciation.
“It was a tough fight; he got me with some good hits,” he admits. “He’s a good boxer and was counter punching so I had to adjust my timing.”
“Were you surprised by Marks’ game plan?” I asked.
“Yes! Even though all his eight wins were by KO, he hadn’t really fought anyone,” Aron replies. “And on his YouTube fights he didn’t look that strong, but he caught me in the third or fourth round with a straight left hand.”
So was this his toughest fight to date?
“Well, he was tough and a very good counterpuncher,” Martinez offers. “But I’d say Joseph Elegele has been my toughest so far. At the time I fought him, he was an undefeated prospect and it was an ESPN fight. I took that fight in less than a week. He was a southpaw too.”
The Elegele match was in July 2011 and two months later, in September of last year, “El Asesino” was officially inked by Thompson Boxing Promotions’ President Ken Thompson and General Manager/Matchmaker Alex Camponovo.
This latest KO is one Team Martinez is enjoying. Before Friday night, the slugger had just three KOs under his belt and Martinez was aware of what the critics were saying.
“I know people say I only had three knockouts and don’t have that ‘big punch’ so I’ve been working hard on it,” the determined 30-year-old says. “We’ve been working on strength and conditioning and I was able to get him out–AND I got the knockout!”
I can hear in his voice a stubborn determination along with a certain amount of satisfaction stemming from his impressive KO last Friday night that not only dropped his opponent, but also had jaws dropping.
“So you realize your critics say you don’t have that knockout power,” I comment. “Does it bother you at all when you hear this?”
“I do take it personally,” Martinez answers after a brief pause. Keeping it real, he explains: “It does kind of get to me so that’s why I’m doing more strength training–I wanna prove I can punch! I’m working hard on conditioning to add a KO to the resumé and I’m working 100% at bettering my punch. During fights, if a KO comes, it comes but I’m definitely working on adding more power–and you saw the results!”
This was the third lefty Aron has faced but he’s very comfortable staying in the pocket against southpaws.
Let’s just say a little sibling rivalry gave the orthodox fighter plenty of experience.
“My brother is a southpaw so when we were little kids we’d always spar each other!” the Mexican warrior recalls. Aron’s brother, Aalan Martinez (12-1-1, 8 KOs), is two years younger and fights 20 pounds lighter but the two still spar all the time. Aalan trains out of Eddie Heredia Boxing Club and was at the fights to witness his sibling’s showdown.
“I STILL spar with Aalan a lot, so fighting southpaws is something I’ve experienced my whole life!” Aron chuckles. “We do some work in the ring.”
Wanting to get on the other side of the gloves, I spoke his brother, Aalan, to hear his take on their sparring sessions.
“We go at it; he doesn’t go easy on me!” Aalan “Bomber” Martinez confirms. “He goes strong to make me stronger.”
Aalan, who fights under the Boxing 360 banner, says he may be on a card in the next month. I also asked his opinion about Aron’s Friday night KO.
“Well…I think I actually missed it!” the 28-year-old laughs. “It was SO fast and I turned my head for only a second; when I turned back the guy was already on his back! Nobody expected that–it came out of nowhere!”
Aalan adds that one thing he respects about his older bro is that he’s “not cocky but always gets the W.” And he also gives props for Aron’s toughness and heart.
“He always fights tough opponents. My brother was hurt the whole fourth round,” the L.A. fighter states. “He was forced to clinch and move around. But his best power punches are his hooks and uppercuts and he delivered those two strong punches to end it.”
Blood brothers, the pair are close in and out of the ring. Aron also has the support of wife, Catrina, and their little girl, Angelina Mia.
Looking ahead to the future, the welter says he is willing to fight anyone.
“I’m really excited about my next fight, maybe in July or August,” the humble prizefighter thinks. “I’m 30 now so I want people to start noticing me–I’ve always been the underdog fighting the ‘bigger’ guys. I’ll leave it up to my promoter to decide who’s next. Mr. Thompson and Alex are really good people; I’m in good hands and I want to face the top opponents. Whenever they call, I always say, ‘Let’s do it’!”
He also wants to thanks all his supporters for coming to his fight. “I had people from all over come to watch,” the pug tells me. “There was also a big group from Northern California who came down just to see me. Hopefully, I made some new fans, too, and people will remember me from this KO.”
It was a memorable knockout for this Southland boxer who proved he can bang.
Photos by Amy Opoka