Martin books Saudi clash with Picasso

Carl Jammes Martin returns to the ring on 31 October when he battles one-time world title challenger David Picasso of Mexico in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A part of the Mexico vs The World slugfest headlined by Canelo Alvarez, the Martin-Picasso showdown will also serve as a world super-bantamweight title elimination match.

On paper, Martin vs Picasso appears to be the one bout that could steal the show from among the fights on tap, including the headlining Alvarez fight against Christian Mbili.

Martin has a perfect record of 28-0-0 with 21 knockouts while Picasso sports a 33-1-1 with 18 knockouts, his lone loss coming against Naoya Inoue almost a year ago also in the Saudi capital.

Martin has been training at Sean Gibbons’ Knuckleheads Boxing Gym in Las Vegas and a victory should boost his stock even if he is already ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization.

Originally from Lagawe in Ifugao, Martin, who turned professional in 2016, is a southpaw while Picasso, hailing from Mexico City, is right-handed.

Martin is sticking it out in the 122 pound ranks since anytime, Inoue, nicknamed The Monster, might go up to featherweight, leaving the WBO and all three governing bodies filling up the vacancy by ordering the highest-rated contenders vying for the vacated titles.