Martinez Wins 10-Round Decision

Junior middleweight Nick Martinez of Bassett withstood a sixth-round onslaught by Alfred Ankamah of Ghana to win a 10-round unanimous decision before 3,940 at the Arrowhead Pond Thursday night.

The victory was the biggest of Martinez’s young career and improved his record to 17-0. Ankamah, the World Boxing Council’s second-rated junior middleweight, carried the middle rounds but tired late, showing all of his 33 years.

“He probably underestimated a 16-0 kid like me,” Martinez said. “But I wanted to show people I could handle a ranked fighter like this. I didn’t have to take this fight, but I wanted to prove that I belonged.”

Martinez, 25, was beating Ankamah to the punch in the early rounds, but he was hit with several big right hands in the sixth round. He had trouble getting off the ropes as Ankamah kept up the pressure. By the end of the round, Martinez appeared to be hanging on.

“He wobbled me, but he didn’t hurt me,” he said. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

Martinez quickly caught his second wind and began carrying the fight to Ankamah with sharp combinations and overhand rights. He led on all three cards, 95-94, entering the 10th round and won the last round on all three cards.

Heavyweight Javier Mora (2-0-1) of Westminster wasn’t as fortunate with the decision in his four-round bout. Mora, a consolation semifinalist at this year’s U.S. Olympic trials, suffered the first blemish on his record when he fought to a draw with James Lester (5-5-1) of Oakland.

Mora, 20, won the first two rounds by scoring with overhand right and left hands to Lester’s head. But Lester caused a large welt under Mora’s left eye in the first round and his eye began to close in the third round. Lester, 29, won the last two rounds with a vicious body attack.

“I fought the wrong fight and my eye puffing up didn’t help,” Mora said. “I should have been slick, jabbing and boxing. But I was letting him hit me too much.”

Mora complained that the swelling under his eye was caused by head-butting. But Lester disagreed.

“Next time he should fight somebody who’s not tough, not strong and who doesn’t make him back up,” Lester said. “He should pick his opponents better.”

Sergio Mora, the No. 2-ranked 156-pound amateur in the United States, had his second consecutive rocky performance as a professional. Mora (2-0), of Los Angeles, defeated Benito Tzand of Van Nuys easily, but he had more flash than substance.

In the other four-round undercard bouts, super lightweight Tony Avila (5-0) of Paramount won a unanimous decision over Ricardo Ruiz (1-1) of Guadalajara, Mexico. Junior middleweight Charles Blake (5-1) of Escondido won a unanimous decision over Cesar Avila (6-2) of Santa Ana.