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Edwards faces tricky defence against dangerman Martinez, writes Daniel Herbert

- Daniel Herbert

THE bad news for Charlie Edwards is that his latest WBC flyweight title defence, on the undercard of the big O2 show in Greenwich on Saturday (August 31), is against the man who in his last fight knocked out Andrew Selby.

The good news for Edwards is that said challenger, Julio Cesar Martinez, beat Welsh wizard Selby on home turf in Mexico and has yet to box outside his native land as a professional.

Fighting in front of your own fans doesn’t guarantee victory, but it doesn’t hurt either. It can be of particular significance if a boxer tight at the weight – what flyweight isn’t? – travels to a country much cooler than his own. He may have to work extra hard to shed surplus weight, an effort that might take the edge off his performance.

When Martinez knocked out Selby in five rounds in March, in a final eliminator, it was only the third time in 15 pro fights he had scaled the 112lbs flyweight limit or less.

Perhaps that just showed a new-found dedication in his first major fight. Martinez lost a four-rounder on his debut and his previous biggest test had been a bantamweight eight against former WBC light-fly champ Edgar Sosa, which he won unanimously on points.

Certainly, the Martinez that beat Selby looks a formidable threat to the much-improved Edwards. He’s won his last eight fights inside the distance, four in the opening round.

Against Selby he got past the former amateur star’s sharper boxing, hurting him downstairs late in the fourth before finishing it with a crushing left to the body in round five.