Alberto Puello, Sandor Martin Reach Agreement For WBC Mandatory Title Fight

Alberto Puello is set for the first defense of his second title reign.

The reigning WBC junior welterweight beltholder has reached terms for a mandatory defense versus Spain’s Sandor Martin. The development was confirmed by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who alerted the masses that a purse bid hearing was no long required for the matchup.

“The fight between [wBC 140-pound] champion, Dominican Alberto Puello and Spaniard Sandor Martin [is] set,” Sulaiman declared on Friday. “[The] parties have agreed to the terms for the mandatory defense of the world championship.”

Neither a date nor location came with the announcement. It is believed to land on the undercard of a forthcoming Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) show. However, PBC creator Al Haymon was busy rotating his summer linens, thus unavailable for comment as this goes to publication.

The development is significant given the parties involved. Puello is promoted by Shuan Boxing out of his native Dominican Republic, but largely a PBC fighter. Spain’s Martin is co-promoted by Top Rank.

Puello (23-0, 10 knockouts), No. 5 at 140, won the interim WBC title in a June 15 points victory over Gary Antuanne Russell in Las Vegas. The only surprise from the verdict was that the unbeaten Dominican was forced to sweat out a split decision.

However, Russell (17-1, 17 KOs), No. 10 at 140, was named as the mandatory for the Puello-Martin winner. The ruling was made in lieu of an appeal for an immediate rematch.

Martin was originally due to challenge two-division and then-reigning WBC 140-pound titlist Devin Haney. Their bout was ordered on May 11 and then went to a June 18 purse bid hearing. Top Rank won with a bid of $2,420,000. Per WBC rules, ten percent of the winning bid gets placed in escrow as a win bonus. From the remaining amount, Haney was due to make $1,524,600 per his entitled 70-percent cut.

The payday was not worth his moving forward with the fight. Haney agreed to relinquish the title and was named ‘Champion in Recess.’ Puello was then upgraded to full titleholder. He entered a second reign as a result. Puello previously held the WBA belt but was stripped after he tested positive for a banned substance last spring. It ultimately canceled his planned title defense versus Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Martin (42-3, 15 KOs) still gets to challenge for the belt versus an unbeaten boxer.

The 30-year-old southpaw from Barcelona, Spain has fought just twice since a disputed Dec. 2022 defeat to Teofimo Lopez (20-1, 13 KOs) in New York City. Lopez went on to win The Ring 140-pound championship and the WBO title, while Martin collected a pair of wins in Italy.

Both fights were only scheduled for eight rounds and versus modest competition. His lack of activity at the top level prompted him to drop out of The Ring’s Top 10 ratings; he was No. 9 when the Haney fight was first ordered in May.

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