Santa Cruz vs Martinez Saturday – This Saturday night, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California hosts Showtime Boxing.
The main event sees the WBA “Super World” Featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (31-0-1) put his belt on the line against Spain’s Kiko Martinez (35-6). In his last outing, Santa Cruz established himself as a player in the lower weight classes with a win over former world champion Abner Mares. Coming off that spectacular performance that took place in front of 12,000 screaming fans in Los Angeles last year, Santa Cruz is looking to position himself for big money fights.
Santa Cruz is going to have height and reach advantages over Martinez. Santa Cruz speed and technique will also be superior to Martinez so the Spaniard is looking at a tall order. Santa Cruz is being given a showcase fight to display his skills.
Martinez is workmanlike, and he can be expected to come to fight. He has held a world championship before, but his last two world title fights have ended in losses for Martinez. Martinez has losses to Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton, the holders of the WBO and IBF belts repsectively. Quigg and Frampton meet the same day in Manchester, and Santa Cruz has been talked about as an opponent for the winner. With that being the case, the choice of Martinez as an opponent will provide a measuring stick for Santa Cruz.
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The co-main event bout is one that has a much tighter line. Hugo Ruiz (35-3) faces Julio Ceja (30-1) for the WBC World Super Bantamweight title. The match is a re-match of their hotly contested bout from August of last year. In that bout, Ceja stopped Ruiz in the fifth round after being down in the third. The first meeting between the two was for an interim version of the title, and this match has seen that belt “upgraded” to full world championship status.
The anticipated ten round heavyweight tussle between undefeated Oscar Rivas (18-0) and likewise undefeated Gerald Washington (16-0-1) has apparently been cancelled. Rivas, from Colombia, was a -150 favorite heading into the fight, with Washington returning at +120. Rivas was giving up a half foot advantage in reach and height, however.
The last match with odds at the books sees once beaten Claudio Marrero (19-1) facing veteran Jonathan Arrellano (16-6-2). Marrero is a southpaw from the Dominican Republic whose only loss came in August of 2013 against Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar of Argentina. Since that fight, he has won five fights in a row and four of those have come by way of stoppage. Arellano is a solid veteran who has tested the likes of Wilfredo Vasquez Jr and Jessie Magdaleno in his career. He has never been stopped, so this is a fight that sees Marrero heavily favored to win.
Santa Cruz vs Martinez on Saturday
Below are the odds for this Saturday’s Showtime Boxing card at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Check your local listings for start times.
Honda Center – Anaheim, California – Showtime
Featherweight 12 rounds –
Kiko Martinez +1500
Leo Santa Cruz -3000
Super Bantamweight 12 rounds –
Hugo Ruiz +170
Julio Ceja -215
Heavyweight 10 rounds –
Oscar Rivas -150
Gerald Washington +120
Featherweight 10 rounds –
Jonathan Arrellano +1500
Claudio Marrero -3800
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