4 hrs ago
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One great fighter left his side, but Brian “Bomac” McIntyre believes he has another in his stable.
McIntyre, who trained now-retired Terence Crawford, compared current protege Lester Martinez to the great Marvin Hagler and believes the Guatemalan is on a similar path to that of the Hall of Famer.
Martinez (19-0-1, 16 KOs) will attempt to become his country's first fighter to win a world title of any kind when facing Immanuwel Aleem for the WBC interim super middleweight strap Saturday at Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, California.
It will be Martinez's second shot at the belt, having fought to a split decision draw in a wild battle for the belt as part of the Canelo-Crawford undercard on September 13.
McIntyre believes his fighter will be too much for Aleem, which has been a theme for much of Martinez's career.
“The thing about Lester’s style is he’s relentless,” McIntyre told ProBox TV. “He’s constantly punching, coming forward. He’s tricky with his punches. It reminds me of Marvin Hagler. The type of attitude that he has, the will that he has to win.”
The skillful, rugged Hagler successfully defended his middleweight championship against top opposition 12 times between 1980 and 1987 to establish himself as an all-time great. John Mugabi, as well as Hall of Fame duo Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns were among those who were beaten by him.
Of course, Martinez has yet to record a defining victory, although The Ring's No. 4-ranked super middleweight came close against Mbilli. Naturally a rematch with the Frenchman, who has since been elevated to full WBC titleholder, is on his radar.
However, he must first get through Aleem (22-3-3, 14 KOs). The 32-year-old Virginian is coming off a seventh-round stoppage victory against Demond Nicholson last July.
As long as everything goes according to plan, McIntyre envisions his man taking Mbilli out in the near future. That would be a major step toward accomplishing his ultimate goal: to become undisputed 168-pound champion, like his former stablemate Crawford.
Crawford turned the trick by defeating Canelo Alvarez in September and then walking away.
“He’s at the top of the division right now and he wants to conquer the division,” McIntyre said of Martinez. “He wants to be undisputed in the 168-pound division. Watch out for him. He’s another legend in the making. He definitely will be undisputed champion.”
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Super middleweight

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