The atmosphere inside the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California, was red hot. Guatemalan fans arrived early in a party mood, sweating it up on a warm spring evening, hoping to see Lester Martinez become boxing’s first titleholder from their country.
Their devotion was rewarded as history was made. Hard-hitting super middleweight Martinez faced down a durable and determined Immanuwel Aleem. After 12 blistering rounds of action, Martinez of Guatemala (20-0-1, 16 KOs) had his hand raised as the first world champion from his country, winning the WBC interim title over Aleem of Richmond, Virginia (22-4-3, 14 KOs). Scores were 120-108, 119-109, and 118-110.
Martinez thanked his parents, loved ones, and all the members of his team led by trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre, adding, “Thank you to you, Guatemala. We now have a world champion!”
Martinez Battles Rugged Opponent
The scorecards alone aren’t a true reflection of the fight. It went to the final bell thanks to the courage and durability of Aleem, who never gave up and never let up. He landed hard shots at times with uppercuts and hooks on Martinez. But the onslaught from Martinez was simply too much firepower for Aleem to hold back.
Aleem stood up to Martinez’s hardest right hooks, body shots, and multiple jabs leads followed by combination punching. The Virginian’s chin kept him in the fight. On our scorecard, we gave him at least two or three rounds, especially as Martinez rested in the eighth round. He shook his head as the scores were read.
“Aleem, all respect to you. He’s strong. I love you man, you’re a warrior,” said Martinez of his dance partner.”
Martinez said he and his team weren’t surprised by what Aleem brought to the table. “We know his experience. We knew how good he was. We were ready for that and more.” Later, Martinez did admit to being disappointed he couldn’t deliver a knockout for his fans and for himself, but said the key was to get the victory, which he did.
CompuBox stats showed Martinez landing 186 of 660 punches thrown (28.2%) against 101 of 511 for Aleem (19.8%). Martinez landed nearly double the number of total power punches, 105 to just 56 for Aleem.
Historic Accomplishment in Guatemala
The Martinez victory is a national news headline in Guatemala. Guatemalan national media outlets were on hand covering the fight in San Bernardino, not merely sports media. Martinez acknowledged the attention in his home nation. “It puts pressure on me to stay on the right path, but I appreciate it.”
Much as Roman Gonzalez became a national hero and symbol of pride in Nicaragua, Martinez has a devoted fan base in much the same way among Guatemalans. One in four Guatemalans in the U.S. live in California, with most in Southern California within an hour’s drive of Saturday’s fight venue. From the ring walk to the result, it was a nonstop din sounding more like a World Cup final than a boxing match.
Martinez hopes for an eventual showdown with the winner of a potential fight between Martinez’s former foe Christian Mbilli and Canelo Alvarez. Martinez says he would love that fight someday, but said there are many options and a lot to come from him in the near-term future.
Undercard Fight Roundup
The seven undercard bouts in San Bernardino added together only lasted one round longer than the main event, with a half dozen ending within the first two rounds and just one going the distance.
Fans only saw one round in the co-main event. Joshua Kevin Anton of Palmdale, California (13-0, 12 KOs) expected his toughest test against “The Uzbeki Punisher,” Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (22-6 14 KOs).
At the conclusion of the round, the Uzbek fighter went back to his corner holding both sides of his head. After conferring with his corner and talking to the referee, the fight was stopped, giving Anton the TKO win and the WBC Continental Americas title. Abdukakhorov was once considered a top welterweight. He has been in many wars and is far from a quitter, so we need to trust there was a good reason for his decision to quit.
Gonzales Chops Down Chambers
Top Rank featherweight prospect Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez of Riverside, California, had plenty of fans excited to see him fight at home for the first time in three years. But they didn’t get to see him for long.
Gonzalez (17-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Brandon Chambers of Owings Hill, Maryland (12-5-1, 5 KOs) barely halfway into the first round. Gonzalez dropped Chambers with a looping right hook to the temple. It was initially ruled a slip, but it became clear Chambers went down on a punch. The count was given, and although Chambers got to his feet, he was in no shape to continue.
Lightweight prospect Samuel Contreras of Los Angeles (6-0, 3 KOs) joined the early exit crew, stopping Cesar Cantù (3-6-2, 1 KO) in the second round when the referee moved in as Contreras delivered an onslaught of unanswered punches against the ropes.
Junior bantamweight prospect Luis Coria of Moreno Valley (5-0, 5 KOs) made quick work of Lito Dante (21-17-4, 12 KOs) of the Philippines, who retired in his corner after two rough rounds with damage to his face.
Martinez stablemate Kevin Ceja Ventura of Omaha (12-1, 8 KOs) defeated Aaron Watson (2-2-2, 1 KO) of Riverside by shutout decision over six rounds with three 60-54 scorecard.
STATEMENT MADE 💥🥊
Jocelyn Camarillo gets Isis Sio out of there in round 1.
📺 Live now on ProBox TV#MartinezAleem pic.twitter.com/GAl54pRTpA
— ProBox TV (@ProBox_TV) March 21, 2026
There were scary moments in the opening bout after junior flyweight Jocelyn Camarillo of Indio, California (6-0, 1 KO) knocked out Isis Sio of North Dakota (1-3) barely a minute into the first round. Sio dropped her hands and took a right hook flush to the head. She was out cold for several minutes and had to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher for medical attention.
The super lightweight bout between local favorite Charles “LoLo” Harris Jr. and Cesar Villarraga fell off the card due to Villarraga’s illness. Harris hasn’t fought in a year and hopes to get another fight scheduled in a month or so.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.