
East L.A. welterweight Aaron Martinez (20-4-1, 4 KOs) will be on the spotlight once again when he takes on undefeated prospect Sammy “The Who Can Mexican” Vasquez (20-0, 14 KO’s) of Pittsburgh Saturday January 23 at the Staples Center live on FOX. We caught up with Martinez as he talked about his preparation and upcoming fight with Vasquez.
“It’s going to be a great show I am ready for this. This is my hometown and I am ready to put on a great show for everyone here at Staples Center,” Martinez told Fightnews.com
Martinez has been training at the Azteca Boxing Gym in the blue collar city of Bell, California with his trainer Yuca Morales in preparation for Vasquez.
“Preparation is going good with my coach Yuca Morales, my weight is good I am focused and training real hard,” Martinez said about camp.

This year Martinez has made a splash as he came into the Stub Hub Center giving former world champion Robert Guerrero one of his toughest fights in his career back in June. Martinez scored a fourth round knockdown as he fought on valiantly coming up short on a split decision.
“I have always been the underdog when I fought Robert Guerrero it was nothing new to me. It just gives me more motivation to come in 100 percent,” Martinez said about his fight with Guerrero.
Following his tough loss to Guerrero, Martinez rebounded with a unanimous decision over former world champion Devon Alexander this past October in Arizona.
“It was a good fight Devon Alexander is an ex world champion. I went in there and he stood in there to fight we put on a good show. My preparation was better than his I was at one hundred percent. Its all about whoever trains the hardest comes out on top,” Martinez said.
Going into those fights Martinez came in as the underdog as he was matched to compliment his opponent style. Coming into the Guerrero fight, Guerrero had suffered and was handed a tough decision loss at the hands of undefeated welterweight Keith “One Time” Thurman. Alexander was coming off a decision loss to Amir Khan as Martinez was his comeback opponent. When asked about his role as the underdog.
“It pushes me hard being the underdog people who don’t know me just talk. People that know me they know how hard I train I am a beast in the gym because I don’t want to lose. I am in a job that I like,” Martinez said.

Having fought the majority of his career in club shows and ballrooms Martinez made a name holding his own against then undefeated prospect Jesse Vargas. He was also in an all out war against the “The Riverside Rocky” Josesito Lopez as he suffered a fifth round stoppage. Following the loss to Lopez, Martinez was inactive for one year as he returned to the ring to fight Guerrero. The East L.A fighter now finds himself in the welterweight mix following his fight with Guerrero and win over Alexander.
“I just try to compete I don’t call anyone out. I fight whoever they put in front of me. I try to give people a good fight I am a brawler. So when people leave the arena I want them to talk about my fight,” Martinez said.
First he must get passed the undefeated Sammy Vasquez. A Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq. Having himself a solid year Vasquez opened up the year winning a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Lartey in his hometown of Pittsburgh. He passed his first big test as he won a unanimous decision over Wale Omotoso. Vasquez is coming off a fifth round TKO over Jose Lopez.
“He is a lefty this is my third straight left that I fight and I don’t have problems fighting lefties. We are ready for him we know he is undefeated but he has never fought someone like me. He has had weaker opposition than me I think my experience will lead us to victory come January 23rd,” Martinez on Vasquez. “A win will put me up there with the top guys but this fight is like a reality come true a victory will show that my hard work pays off,” Martinez said.
Martinez vs. Vasquez will be a scheduled ten round welterweight bout as it will the co-main event on the Danny Garcia vs. Robert Guerrero card opening up the telecast on the series debut of Premier Boxing Champions on FOX.
“You will see an all action fight I am fighting at the Staples Center. I want to put up a great fight like an old school brawl. I want my fight to steal the show. I come to fight and hopefully he does to,” Martinez said.
Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla
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