Martinez suspended nine months for failed drug test

Julio Cesar Martinez’s win over Angelino Cordova was also overturned to a no contest

Former flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez will have an excuse for his next bout of inactivity, as Jake Donovan reports that he’s been suspended nine months and fined just over $11,000 after failing a drug test for his March bout with Angelino Cordova.

The suspension is backdated to that majority decision win, which is now a no contest.

Martinez (21-3, 15 KO) has not fought more than twice in a calendar year since a breakout 2019 saw him smash a local no-hoper, beat down Andrew Selby, nearly stop Charlie Edwards before hitting him while he was down, and finally overpower Cristofer Rosales for the title. He’s managed just two bouts in the last 14 months, an eleventh-round finish of Ronal Batista in May 2023 and the aforementioned win over Cordova.

We’ll see whether the WBC elects to give Martinez a ranking at 115; they declined to punish him after a failed test for clenbuterol a few years back and Mauricio Sulaiman plays favorites like few others.