Martin debut in super bantam with 5th round win over Tejones

Ifugao pride Carl Jammes Martin started slowly in his upper bantamweight debut but he went on to dominate Joe Tejones and win their 10 round fight in the fifth round in the undercard of the World Boxing Association minimumweight title fight of Robert Paradero and Victorio Saludar at the Binan Football Stadium in Binan, Laguna Saturday.

What was said to the toughest fight yet for the Wonder Boy, turned out to be a one-man show for Martin who pummeled the Valencia City with punches before sending the latter to the canvas in the fifth round with one shot in the body.

The end came for Tejones at the 1:48 mark of the fifth round, a conclusion to a sided fight where the Ifugao native was clearly the dominant fighter of the two.

Martin used his right hand that hit Tejones in the midsection that sent him reeling on the canvas and finally settled prone for a few minutes before court officials helped him to his corner gasping for breath.

“Virtually a human punching bag,” Highland Boxing Promotion head Brico Santig in describing what the Lagawe, Ifugao native did to the ever-dangerous Tejones.

It was on the third round that Martin found his stride as he peppered Tejones with punches that found no answer.

The win saw Martin improve to 17-0, 15 which through stoppage, even as Tejones earned his eighth defeat in 21 outings.

It was also the first fight of Martin in the higher weight category, particularly the super bantamweight division. He came in at 122 pounds, two pounds lighter than his opponent.

“Mahirap nang ma-maintain ang weight ko, kaya akyat ako (It is now difficult to maintain my weight, so I have to move up),” the 21-year old Martin said last month still unsure where or when he will fight yet due to the Covid-19.

He was also a late addition as after the WBA fight, dubbed Elorde Night of Champion, was postponed for the third time last January 30 due to the pandemic.

The fight was supposed to be even staged here as part of the month-long celebration as planned by Santig. But then the city and the rest of the region were elevated to general community quarantine from modified GCQ as Covid-19 cases continue to rise and fear of the UK variant of the disease.

The title fight between the unbeaten Robert Paradero (18-0) and Victorio Saludar (20-4) was postponed three times due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It was first slated in September, then moved to December 5 and last January 30. It was finally moved to Saturday with the Mindanao-based Saludar needing to be quarantined for 14 days to be able to fight.

The 24-year old pride of Valencia City, Bukidnon last fought on April 5 2019 where he knocked out Jonathan Almacen.

He won the World Boxing Organization Asia Pacific Youth minimum title on April 4, 2018, by scoring a unanimous decision over Royder Lloyd Brobon.d

Saludar, 30, meanwhile, is a former World Boxing Organization minimum champion who won the belt when he scored a unanimous decision on Ryuya Yamanaka on July 13, 2018. Pigeon Lobien / RNG

FIVE ROUNDS. Carl Jammes Martin needed only five rounds to beat Joe Tejones in the undercard of the World Boxing Association minimum weight title fight of Robert Paradero and former champion Victorio Saludar in Binan, Laguna. Elorde International Productions photo