Highlights
–The fight got off to a measured start, with neither Devon Alexander nor Aron Martinez landing many clean shots as the early rounds featured much grappling as Alexander attempted to fight from a distance behind his jab while Martinez played the raging bull, coming forward relentlessly.
–Martinez landed a punishing right hand in Round 8 that wobbled Alexander and appeared to have him hurt before the round came to an end.
–During the latter half of the fight, Martinez was able to hammer through Alexander’s defense, punishing him on the ropes and outworking him on the way to winning a unanimous decision.
The underdog proved to have plenty of bite, as Aron Martinez pulled off an upset of Devon Alexander in a rugged war of attrition.
From the get-go, Martinez attempted to make the fight ugly, plowing Alexander into the ropes, grappling and mugging, and leaning on the former two-division world champ in what seemed like an attempt to drain his energy and negate his hand-speed advantage.
Alexander was at best when fighting in the center of the ring, where he was able to turn Martinez and benefit from his faster fists to land shots and then get out of the way.
Martinez did his best to penetrate Alexander's defense through sheer relentless activity and began to succeed after some slowgoing early in the fight, when the action was measured.
By the middle rounds, Martinez was able to find his rhythm, landing uppercuts and refusing to allow Alexander to elude his charge.
Late in Round 8, Martinez snapped Alexander’s head back with a thundering right, wobbling the southpaw as Martinez unleashed a flurry of punches that appeared to have Alexander in trouble before the round came to an end.
Martinez continued to go for broke the remainder of the slow-simmering fight, which came to a boil late. It was Alexander who felt the burn as Martinez scored the upset in a unanimous decision.
Aron Martinez works inside against Devon Alexander during their 147-pound bout in Glendale, Arizona. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
