McWilliams Arroyo Injured, New Opponent Sought For Julio Cesar Martinez

Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo proceed to seek out methods to not meet within the ring.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the oft-postponed WBC flyweight title consolidation bout takes one other hit. An undisclosed damage has pressured Puerto Rico’s Arroyo to withdraw from their scheduled December 3 rematch to have aired on DAZN from the Desert Diamond Enviornment in Glendale, Arizona.

A brand new opponent might be searched for Mexico Metropolis’s Martinez (18-2, 14KOs; 2NC), who will stay on the present in what’s going to now turn out to be a voluntary title protection. Matchroom Boxing matchmaker Kevin Rooney Jr. confirmed the event in the course of the annual WBC conference in Acapulco.

The rematch was as a consequence of function the chief assist on a present headlined by the anticipated rubber match between lineal junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (43-3, 28KOs) and former four-division champ Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs).

As an alternative, the bout suffers his fourth delay in a rivalry that seems to have been doomed from the game. It comes lower than three weeks after Arroyo (21-4, 16KOs; 1NC) surprisingly introduced his retirement, solely to make clear that it’ll come after his rematch with Martinez.

For now, it means a delay till 2023 except the interim WBC flyweight titlist walks away from the game altogether.

Martinez will search to make the fifth protection of his title towards an opponent to be decided, having not fought since a non-title battle factors loss to Gonzalez on March 5 in San Diego.

The one precise assembly between the 2 got here final November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The battle got here collectively after Martinez beforehand withdrew from an August 2020 conflict as a consequence of sickness and a February 2021 showdown in Miami Gardens, Florida as a consequence of damage. Their deliberate rematch on June 25 in San Antonio noticed Mexico Metropolis’s Martinez withdraw throughout battle week, as soon as once more citing sickness. The event got here too far into battle week for Matchroom Boxing to safe a alternative opponent in time to go away Arroyo on the present.

Jake Donovan is a senior author for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox