Julio Cesar Martínez


Julio Cesar Martínez Aguilar is a Mexican professional boxer who has held the World Boxing Council flyweight title from 2019 to 2024.

Professional career

Early career

Martínez made his professional debut against Joaquin Cruz on 16 October 2015. He lost the fight by a split decision. He would go on to amass a 13-1 record over the course of his next 13 fights.
Martínez was scheduled to fight Andrew Selby on 23 March 2019, in a WBC flyweight title eliminator to determine the next mandatory challenger. Martínez won the fight by a fifth-round knockout, handing Selby the first loss of his professional career. Selby had a great start to the fight, before a clash of heads in the third round cut him along his left eyebrow, for which Martínez was deducted a point. Martínez enjoyed more success from the third round onward, knocking Selby down with a liver shot 57 seconds into the fifth round.

WBC flyweight champion

Martínez vs. C. Edwards

As Martínez had secured his position as the mandatory WBC flyweight title challenger with the fifth-round knockout of Andrew Selby, WBC ordered the reigning flyweight world champion Charlie Edwards to defend his title against Martínez. They were later given a weeklong extension from the sanctioning body to come to terms as regards the purse and venue. The two parties avoided going to a purse bid, agreeing to fight at The O2 Arena in London, on the Lomachenko vs Campbell undercard, on 31 August 2019.
In the third round of the fight, Martínez landed a combination of punches which staggered the champion, forcing him to take a knee. As he did so, Martínez landed a heavy body shot that completely took Edwards out of the fight. Referee Mark Lyson stopped the bout, while WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman reviewed the fight ending sequence. Sulaiman found the fight ending shot to have landed egregiously late, officially overturning the fight to a no-contest.
During the post-fight interview, Edwards stated: "This is the right decision. I took a knee for a purpose...We get in this ring to abide by the rules". WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said he had ordered a rematch, to which Edwards acquiesced. Edwards' manager Eddie Hearn was elusive as to the rematch, however, claiming that they planned to move up to super flyweight. Edwards officially vacated his WBC flyweight title on 6 October 2019.

Martínez vs. Rosales

Following former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards’ decision to vacate the title and move to super flyweight, WBC scheduled the #1 ranked Martínez to fight the #2 ranked Cristofer Rosales for the vacant WBC flyweight championship. Martínez was scheduled to fight the former WBC flyweight titlist on 20 December 2019, on the undercard of the super-middleweight fight between Daniel Jacobs and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. In November 2019, it was revealed that Martínez had tested positive Clenbuterol, a banned substance. WBC decided not to punish him, as the amount of the muscle-forming drug found in his system wasn't deemed sufficient to register any in-competition benefit. Martínez won the fight with Rosales by a ninth-round technical knockout. Martínez took over the fight in the third round, after two competitive back-and-forth rounds, battering the exhausted former champion until referee Raul Caiz stopped the fight.

Martínez vs. Harris

Martínez was scheduled to make his first title defense against Jay Harris, on 29 February 2020. It was scheduled for the undercard of the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas welterweight fight. Martínez was the favorite heading into the bout, with Harris being a 7/1 underdog. Martínez pressured throughout the first half of the fight, with his pace slowing from the eight round onward. Harris suffered a cut above his left eye in the second round, and was knocked down in the tenth round. Martínez won the fight by unanimous decision, with varied scorecards of 118-109, 116-111, and 115-112.

Martínez vs. Calleros

Martínez was scheduled to make his second title defense against Maximino Flores on 23 October 2020. Four days before the fight, Flores announced his withdrawal from the bout due to a positive COVID-19 test. Accordingly, Martínez was rescheduled to defend his title against Moisés Calleros. Calleros accepted the fight on less than one week’s notice. Due to the short notice, he was unable to cut weight properly, and weighed in at 117.4 pounds, 5.4 pounds over the title limit. Martínez won the fight by a second-round technical knockdown. He staggered Calleros with a left hook-right straight combination, before unloading with numerous power punches, which forced the referee Cesar Castanon to stop the fight at the 2:42 minute mark. During the post fight interview, Martínez stated his desire to fight fellow titleholder Artem Dalakian and Moruti Mthalane in a title unification bouts, before moving up to super flyweight.

Martínez vs. Cordova

Martínez was scheduled to defend his title for the third time against the former unified minimumweight world champion Francisco Rodríguez Jr. on 19 December 2020, on the Canelo Álvarez and Callum Smith undercard. Rodríguez Jr. later withdrew from the bout, due to a non-COVID related illness. Martínez was expected to defend his title against McWilliams Arroyo on 27 February 2021. The fight was scheduled as the co-main event to Canelo Álvarez's super middleweight fight with Avni Yıldırım. Martínez withdrew from the fight the day before, due to a hand injury. He suffered a small fracture in his right hand during a sparring session, which was aggravated during the week preceding the fight, causing his hand to swell. Martínez was scheduled to make his third title defense against Joel Cordova on 26 June 2021. Cordova was ranked #15 by the WBC. He won the fight by a sixth-round technical knockout. Martínez first knocked Cordova down with a left hook and piled on strikes which forced the referee to stop the fight.

Martínez vs. Arroyo

On 4 October 2021, it was revealed that Martínez would face the WBC interim flyweight titleholder McWilliams Arroyo on 19 November 2021, on the undercard of the Demetrius Andrade and Jason Quigley middleweight title fight. The bout would be streamed by DAZN from the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. The pair was originally scheduled to face each other on 27 February 2021, before Martínez withdrew due to a hand injury. The fight was ruled a no-contest at the end of the second round, due to an accidental clash of heads which caused cut above Arroyo's right. The fight was stopped after Arroyo told the ringside physician that he was unable to see out of the damaged eye.

Martínez vs. González

Martínez faced the former four-weight world champion Román González in the main event of a DAZN broadcast card on 5 March 2022 at junior bantamweight. González was ranked #1 by the WBA and #2 by the WBC, as well as #2 by The Ring. Martínez stepped in with less than six weeks notice as replacement for Juan Francisco Estrada, who was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test. He was defeated by González by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 118–110, 117–111 and 116–112 all in favor of González.

Martínez vs. Carmona

Martínez was expected to face the WBC interim flyweight champion McWilliams Arroyo in a rematch on 25 June 2022, after their first fight ended in a no-contest following an accidental head clash in the third round. On 22 June, three days before the bout was supposed to take place, Martínez withdrew with an illness. This marked the third time that he had withdrawn from this specific match up, having withdraw once in each of the two previous calendar years. The pair reached an agreement to pursue separate bouts on 12 July, which allowed Martínez to enter into negotiations for a title unification bout with the reigning IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards. As these negotiations fell through, Martínez was once again booked to face the WBC interim champion McWilliams Arroyo. The bout was expected to take place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on 3 December 2022. Arroyo withdrew from the bout on 8 November, with a neck injury. Martínez was rescheduled to face Samuel Carmona at the same date and venue. He won the fight by majority decision, with two judges awarding him a 117–111 and 116–112 scorecard, while the third judge scored the bout as an even 114–114 draw.

Martínez vs. Batista

Martínez was initially expected to face the mandatory WBC title challenger McWilliams Arroyo on 6 May 2023. Arroyo was however unable to make the date, due to a pre-existing injury. Martínez instead made a voluntary defense against Ronal Batista on the same date. He retained the title by an eleventh-round technical knockout, after having knocked Batista down in the seventh round. The knockdown was first ruled a slip by the in-ring referee, but ringside officials scored it as a knockdown in between the rounds. Batista was docked a point after the end of the fourth round, as he landed a strike after the bell had sounded.

Martínez vs. Cordova

Martínez was scheduled to defend his WBC flyweight title against Angelino Cordova on 16 December 2023 at The Armory in Minneapolis. The fight was postponed due to VISA issue on Martínez's side. In February 2024, it was announced that the fight was rescheduled for 30 March 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Martínez twice knocked Cordova down and won the fight by majority decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 114–112 for the champion, while the third ringside official handed in an even 113–113 scorecard. The fight was later overturned to a no contest when Martinez failed a post fight drug test.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
27LossGerardo Valenzuela MunozTKO8, 0:3531 May 2025Palenque Fex, Mexicali, Mexico
26NC20–3 Angelino CordovaNC1230 Mar 2024T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Originally MD win for Martínez, later ruled NC after he failed a drug test
25Win20–3 Ronal BatistaTKO11, 1:006 May 2023Estadio Akron, Zapopan, MexicoRetained WBC flyweight title
24Win19–3 Samuel CarmonaMD123 Dec 2022Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBC flyweight title
23Loss18–3 Román GonzálezUD125 Mar 2022Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California, U.S.
22NC18–2 McWilliams ArroyoNC3, 0:0119 Nov 2021SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.Retained WBC flyweight title;
Arroyo unable to continue after accidental head clash
21Win18–2 Joel CordovaTKO6, 0:5926 Jun 2021Arena Alcalde, Guadalajara, MexicoRetained WBC flyweight title
20Win17–2 Moisés CallerosTKO2, 2:4223 Oct 2020Gimnasio TV Azteca, Mexico City, MexicoRetained WBC flyweight title
19Win16–2 Jay HarrisUD1229 Feb 2020 The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC flyweight title
18Win15–2 Cristofer RosalesTKO9, 1:2020 Dec 2019Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.Won vacant WBC flyweight title
17NC14–2 Charlie Edwards3, 1:4331 Aug 2019The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWBC flyweight title at stake;
Originally a KO win for Martinez, later ruled a NC
after Edwards was hit while he was down
16Win14–2Andrew SelbyKO5, 0:5723 Mar 2019Centro de Espectáculos del Recinto Ferial, Metepec, Mexico
15Win13–2Irvin OrdazTKO1, 1:5226 Jan 2019Lienzo Charro, Ciudad Guzman, Mexico
14Win12–2Victor RuizKO1, 1:576 Oct 2018Estadio Chevron, Tijuana, Mexico
13Win11–2Juan Lopez Martinez1, 2:1111 Aug 2018Mexico City Arena, Mexico City, Mexico
12Win10–2Ivan Meneses FloresTKO2, 0:237 Jul 2018Domo del Parque San Rafael, Guadalajara, Mexico
11Win9–2Jose Armando Valdes6, 3:0023 Feb 2018Associación Mexico Japonesa, Mexico City, Mexico
10Win8–2Martin TecuapetlaTKO4, 2:5916 Dec 2017Domo Sindicato de Trabajadores IMSS, Tlalpan, Mexico
9Win7–2Marvin DiazTKO1, 2:477 Oct 2017Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
8Win6–2Édgar SosaUD817 Jun 2017Explanada Delegacion Cuauhtemoc, Mexico City, Mexico
7Win5–2Hugo Hernandez Aguilar81 Oct 2016Deportivo Plan Sexenal, Mexico City, Mexico
6Win4–2Joaquin Cruz813 Aug 2016Arena Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico
5Win3–2Israel IzquierdoTKO1, 1:029 Jul 2016Arena Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico
4Win2–2Leonardo BaezTKO2, 1:202 Apr 2016Auditorio Blackberry, Mexico City, Mexico
3Win1–2Sergio GranadosTKO2, 2:243 Mar 2016Auditorio Blackberry, Mexico City, Mexico
2Loss0–2Joaquin Cruz416 Oct 2015Auditorio Pablo Colín, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico
1Loss0–1Fernando Monroy2, 1:3421 Mar 2013Jose Cuervo Salon, Polanco, Mexico