Junior middleweight prospect Sergio Martinez (41-1-1, 22 KOs) stopped the overmatched Russell Jordan (14-5, 9 KOs) in the 4th round last night of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Paradise Theater, in Bronx, New York. Martinez, ranked # 1 inthe World Boxing Council light middleweight division, hurt Jordan with a right and two left hands in the 4th round, and then finished him off with a flurry of shots while Jordan was against the ropes. Though he was still standing at the time of the stoppage, Jordan looked defenseless, which led to the referee stopping the fight at 0:59 of the fourth round. Martinez, 32, initially had problems with Jordan early on in the first round, as he was hit often by hard jabs from the 6’2″ Jordan.
However, the southpaw Martinez suddenly ybegan answering back with powerful combinations, snapping Jordan’s head back frequently. Martinez knocked Jordan down with a right-left combination in the first round. From that point on, Jordan seemed to give up on the fight, as he rarely threw his jab with the kind of conviction that he did in the first minute, perhaps afraid of getting hit with hard counter shots.
In rounds two and three, Martinez continued hitting Jordan with blistering combinations, mixing up his punches well from body to head. In the 4th round, Martinez was landing at will with shots, one of which hurt Jordan and caused him to back up to the ropes. Martinez then followed after him and unloaded a blizzard of punches, causing the referee to step in and halt the bout.
Though Martinez looked good, it’s time that he steps it up against better competition. Since losing by 7th round TKO to Antonio Margarito in February 2000, Martinez, 32, has fought almost exclusively C-level fighters, and it’s time he starts facing better opponents if he;s to be taken serious. Despite his poor opposition, his efforts have paid off for him, as he’s ranked #1 in the WBC, but he’s likely to be in for a shock when/if he ever fights the Vernon Forrest, the current WBC light middleweight champion.