Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Artem Dalakian on August 15 in China

By Boxing News - 06/22/2020 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Julio Cesar Martinez and Artem Dalakian will be fighting in a unification clash at 112-pounds on August 15 in China. ESPN Knockout is reporting that WBC flyweight champion Martinez (16-1, 12 K.O.s) and WBA belt-holder Dalakian (20-0, 15 K.O.s) will be fighting in less than two months from now in August.

By placing the Martinez vs. Dalakian in China, it gives it a better chance of having it take place in front of a crowd. That would have to be behind closed doors if they staged it in the U.S. or the U.K.

A good test for Julio Cesar Martinez

On paper, this is a toss-up between Martinez and the 32-year-old Dalakian. Both guys can slug and have a nonstop punching style. Although Dalakian has looked good with his knockout percentage of 70, he hasn’t fought anyone suitable yet.

Image: Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Artem Dalakian on August 15 in China

Dalakian has been fighting obscure opposition that most top 10 flyweights would beat. The 5’4 1/2″ Ukraine resident Dalakaian looked good in beating everyone he’s faced, but his opponents have been too mediocre to give an accurate gauge of how good he is.

Dalakian’s best wins have come against these fighters:

  • Sarawut Thawornkham
  • Josber Perez
  • Gregorio Lebron
  • Sirichai Thaiyen
  • Brian Viloria

Artem Dalakian with a chance to win new fans

U.S. boxing fans haven’t seen much of Dalakian, so this will give them an excellent chance to be introduced to him. This is a winnable fight for Dalakian, as Martinez struggled in his last contest against Jay Harris in February of this year in Frisco, Texas.

By far, the Baku, Azerbaijan born Dalakian’s best win of his nine-year professional career came against 38-year-old former two-division world champion Viloria (38-6, 23 K.O.s) in 2018.

This wasn’t a prime Viloria that Dalakian beat, and it’s unclear whether he would have beaten the ‘Hawaain Punch’ in his prime.

Dalakian goes after his opponents, throwing huge shots, and moving around well. He fights like a matador with the way steers his opponents around, and can get out of the way of their bull-like rushes.

We’ll see if Dalakian can keep from being gored by Martinez’s powerful punches on August 15 because this is a guy that is many levels above the opposition he’s been facing.

Harris gave Martinez all he could handle before wearing down in the championship rounds in losing a 12 round decision. Martinez also had problems with Christopher Rosales and Andrew Selby.

Martinez-Dalakian – who wins?

“Julio César ‘Rey’ Martínez and Artem Dalakian will unify the @WBCBoxing & @WBABoxing of the flyweight on August 15 in China.

Who are you going with in this undefeated battle?” said ESPN Knockout.

Although Martinez stopped both of those fighters, he had issues throughout those fights. Selby dominated Martinez through four rounds before being stopped in the fifth round with a beautiful left-hand body shot that put him on the deck.

Image: Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Artem Dalakian on August 15 in China

The young 25-year-old Julio Cesar Martinez is one of those fighters that brings drama to all of his fights, as he’s not afraid to get hit. Martinez’s opponents are often competitive with him, and you’re at the edge of your seat, wondering if he’s going to win or not.

Eddy Reynoso trains Martinez, and he’s trying to develop his game, but he’s not going to be able to change the fundamental DNA of his style of fighting. Reynoso won’t be able to do that. The large part of Martinez’s success is his all-out aggression and the way he gets in the trenches and throws caution to the wind.

Martinez faces a tough opponent in Dalakian

The Matchroom Boxing promoted ‘El Rey’ Martinez has fought most of his career in Mexico until recently.

Martinez fought twice in the U.K., wiping out Andrew Selby and Charlie Edwards. In Martinez’s last two fights, he’s competed in the United States in beating Jay Harris and Cristofer Rosales in defending his WBC flyweight title successfully.

There are so many unknowns with the Martinez vs. Dalakian fight, and that makes it very hard to make a precise prediction. We know that the 25-year-old Martinez is seven years younger than the 32-year-old Dalakian, but that’s not much of a difference.

Dalakian hasn’t shown any signs of aging in his recent fights, and he’s been looking very sharp lately.

In terms of punching power, Dalakian, and the Mexico-born Julio Cesar Martinez are equal. They both punch pretty much with the same kind of energy, and they’re excellent body punchers. Martinez is a little better at throwing to the body than Dalakian, and he’s unpredictable.

Martinez mixes his shots off well, and he’s capable of stopping his opponents with body shots at any time. For example, in Martinez’s match against Selby, he was throwing the majority of his shots to the head. But in the fifth, he suddenly retargeted his punches in throwing to the body, and he quickly stopped Selby.

In Martinez’s last fight, he had problems with Jay Harris until dropping him with a nice body shot in round 10. That knockdown sealed the victory for Martinez, as he took over the contest and dominated rounds 11 and 12 with his body punching.

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