Martinez ready to brawl against Vasquez

— -- Seven months ago, Aron Martinez was an unknown boxer from East Los Angeles coming off a 14-month layoff when he was served up to longtime contender Robert Guerrero, who was looking to bounce back from a one-sided March loss to world titleholder Keith Thurman.

It sure did not go the way it was supposed to. Martinez, who fought his heart out that June afternoon in Carson, California, knocked Guerrero down and gave him hell in a nationally televised bout. After 10 tough rounds, most thought Martinez had won -- until two of the judges generously scored it for Guerrero, who claimed a split decision.

"I think Guerrero underestimated me. I thought I won the fight but the judges had it differently. It's boxing," Martinez lamented recently. "You have to move on and use it as motivation the next time you're out there."

That is just what Martinez did. Despite the loss, Martinez was given another shot against a well-known opponent but one who was, again, supposed to win. Former two-division world titleholder Devon Alexander, coming back from a 10-month layoff and a one-sided decision loss to Amir Khan, was the heavy favorite when they met in an ESPN-televised main event in October in Glendale, Arizona.

This time, not only did Martinez fight his heart out again, he was rewarded with a unanimous decision victory.

"Against Devon Alexander, I was the bigger guy," Martinez said. "I've been fighting at 147 [pounds] my whole life, going back to when I was an amateur. He couldn't hurt me and couldn't deal with my pressure. I learned from the Guerrero to close the show like I did against Alexander."

It has led Martinez to yet another notable fight where, although he is once again an underdog, it is expected to be a competitive bout when he meets up-and-coming welterweight Sammy Vasquez on a Premier Boxing Champions card Saturday night (Fox, 8 ET) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"I'm all about hard work and I believe that if you put the time in, you're going to get your opportunity," Martinez said. "I've always known I had the skills to compete with the best. I may have shocked the boxing community with my recent performances, but I didn't shock myself. I know I belong here."

In the main event, former junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, and former two-division titlist Robert Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs), 32, of Gilroy, California, will square off for a vacant welterweight world title, one of the belts left vacant by Floyd Mayweather's retirement in September. In the 10-round heavyweight opener, 6-foot-7, 260-pound Dominic Breazeale (16-0, 14 KOs), 30, a 2012 U.S. Olympian from Alhambra, California, will fight 6-foot-1, 220-pound Amir "Hardcore" Mansour (22-1-1, 16 KOs), a hard-hitting 43-year-old southpaw from Wilmington, Delaware, who fights out of nearby Philadelphia.

Martinez (20-4-1, 4 KOs), 34, said he expects yet another tough fight but he is as confident as he was when he faced Guerrero and Alexander.

"Every fight gets harder and harder," said Martinez, who will be facing his third consecutive southpaw. "We've had a great training camp and we're ready to brawl. Expect a good fight on Saturday night and expect some fireworks. This is my backyard. I started my career here and it's a great opportunity for people to get to see me. I want to put on a great show.

"Vasquez is like any other fighter. Only thing special is that he's undefeated. He doesn't want to lose that but nothing worries me about him. This will be tougher than my last two fights, but we're ready. I think we're going to steal the show. He's undefeated, a southpaw and he definitely doesn't want to lose. It's my hometown though, so I'm going to put up a good fight and make it a war."

Vasquez (20-0, 14 KOs), 29, of Monessen, Pennsylvania, served two tours of duty in Iraq and still deals with post-traumatic stress disorder from his time there.

"I try to use boxing to get anything out there about the military that I can," he said. "I've been deployed twice and diagnosed with PTSD. PTSD and TBI [traumatic brain injury] are very serious things. I'm lucky to be where I'm at right now. I want to push the word out there more. It's very serious, but I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to spread the word."

Fighting in the ring is a lot easier than on the battlefield for the action-oriented brawler.

"My time in the military helped turn me into a man," Vasquez said. "I joined at a young age and it has made me the person I am today. Boxing in front of thousands of people is an honor and I'm going to enjoy it. I made it through two tours all in one piece and there are a lot of people who weren't as lucky. To be able to give anything back is truly special.

"We're here to take care of business come Saturday night. Hopefully I can keep fighting people above me in the rankings. This is a great stepping-stone for me. Eventually we want one of these guys in the main event [for a world title]."

The Vasquez-Martinez winner will move a step closer to a mandatory fight against the winner of Garcia-Guerrero, although the exact route to the title fight has not been specifically explained by the WBC. Nonetheless, both fighters are eager to move on to bigger fights and bigger money.

"We have to shine on Saturday night. This is our chance to show that we belong," said Vasquez, who predicted he would knock Martinez out between the sixth and eighth rounds. "Being able to stop Aron Martinez would put me on a bigger stage. I don't know where I'll be at on the welterweight scale if I get this win, but I'd love to fight either Danny Garcia or Robert Guerrero. Time will tell. I intend to fight for a world title by the end of the year.

"Being in competition for a world title is what we want. All the best guys are in the welterweight division. Where I am right now, I'm on the cusp of moving in on the big dogs in the division. I want to fight those guys. I feel like I'm ready to go."

Martinez has the same goals as Vasquez, and has no intention of being knocked out as his opponent predicted.

"Vasquez said he's going to stop me and prove himself, but everybody says things before the fight," Martinez said. "He's going to start boxing once he feels my power. Although I don't have the knockouts on my record I do have the power and he's going to feel it.

"It's difficult to stand out as a welterweight. It's a loaded division. The fights are always tough. I have to bring my 'A' game every fight and each training camp has to be better than the last. That's just how I look at it and how I prepare. Hopefully, Vasquez comes to fight. I'm an old-school fighter so you know I'm going to bring it. I like to put on a show for the fans that come watch me fight. I want the fans talking about me after the fight. Like I said, I'm an old-school 'Rocky' fighter that loves to brawl. That's what I'm about."