Xavier Martinez outpoints Juan Carlos Burgos in wild brawl
Xavier Martinez defeated Juan Carlos Burgos by a clear decision but both fighters won the hearts of fans in a wild brawl on the Luis Nery-Brandon Figueroa card Saturday in Carson, Calif.
The boxers fought toe-to-toe almost every second of the 10-round junior lightweight bout but Martinez landed the cleaner punches, which evidently impressed the judges.
Martinez won by the same score all three cards, 99-91, or nine rounds to one. Boxing Junkie scored it 97-93 for Martinez.
“I felt I could’ve done better,” Martinez said, “but I landed the cleaner, harder shots the whole time. And even when he was throwing, I was slipping and catching them.”
Martinez (17-0, 11 KOs) made a strong statement, which was important for him. He was coming off a so-so performance against Claudio Marrero in October, when he survived two knockdowns to win a close decision.
Burgos (34-5-2, 21 KOs) has now lost three of his last four fights. However, the 33-year-old Mexican demonstrated as clearly as possible on Saturday that he has plenty of fight left in him.
