Sandor Martin and five other Spanish-speaking upset winners in 2021

Each year, the boxing calendar is brought to life by virtuoso elites, breakout performances, crunching KOs, scream-worthy controversies and, my personal favourite, upset-minded underdogs. This year has been no different as a variety of favoured fighters have fallen to lesser-known commodities as we enjoy the championship rounds of 2021.

Sandor Martin, arguably this year’s biggest upset leader, joined the pack on October 16 with a close, but clear decision victory over a befuddled Mikey Garcia at a catchweight of 145lbs. Garcia, once a pound-for-pound contender, had planned to shrink back down from 147 and seek the biggest bout available at super-lightweight. All he had to do was get past Sandor Martin, a career 140-pounder. Martin had fought once outside of his native Spain and dropped a decision to Anthony Yigit in 2017. Going into the Garcia bout, Martin’s remaining résumé was comprised entirely of domestic-level competitors, lacking world-class experience. Garcia, of course, has only faced world-class opposition since, roughly, 2012. Yet, Martin beamed with confidence and adamantly prognosticated a victory for Spain.

The 10 rounds were never blistering with action, but, after seemingly dropping some early rounds, Martin took over the second half of the fight to dominate off the back foot, landing the more significant blows while Garcia countered sparingly and/or ineffectively. Each round saw Martin get better and Garcia less present. Garcia’s performance was blamed on ring rust, but it looked more like a boxer who believed the final outcome was already decided before the opening bell and didn’t give his opponent the proper respect in training camp. Most of us were guilty of that same impression.

Martin, 28, goes back home to Barcelona an emerged fighter, now ranked seventh at 140lbs by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. He has more options than at any other stage of his career and, surely, some big decisions to make. Whether he opts for a Garcia rematch or a run at a world title, Martin does so as a winner and legitimate contender.

Martin, 39-2 (13), has not been alone this year. In fact, a good handful of other Spanish-speaking fighters have produced significant upset performances.

Mauricio Lara – Featherweight
In 2020, few of us had Mexico’s Mauricio Lara on our radar in spite of a 22-2 résumé. His ledger, of course, lacked merit. After losing his professional debut in 2015, Lara went on to defeat domestic neophytes and club-level beginners in the sport as most of his countrymen have done. However, unlike many, Lara managed to remain in control of his career and not be sold out as an opponent to build more promising fighters. He ruined a handful of unbeaten records and only absorbed one additional defeat, seemingly being caught cold in under a minute by a virtual unknown (Eliott Chavez). Ironically, the danger presented by being an ‘unknown’, at the very least, aided Lara in scoring his upset of Josh Warrington on February 13. Warrington entered the ring unbeaten with a wealth of world-class scalps in his trophy room. A 12-round fighter by reputation, Warrington seemed hell-bent on proving his meagre numbers in the power department were misleading as he engaged Lara in phonebooth warfare from the onset. Warrington wasn’t without his connects, but early in round four it became apparent Lara could stun him. Soon after, it was clear the Mexican upstart could also hurt and drop one of the top-rated featherweights in the world. Lara put the final touches on this career-best victory in round nine as a resilient Warrington found his fill of left hooks and dropped to the canvas a second time, prompting the stoppage. Lara accepted the rematch, but it was over before it started due to an accidental head clash in round two, resulting in a technical draw. However, Lara, 23, remains hot in a division which offers opportunity against Emanuel Navarette, Kid Galahad, Leigh Wood and, of course, Warrington III.

Ricardo Rafael Sandoval – Flyweight
Sandoval is Mexican by lineage and culture, but he was born and raised in California, USA, and is bilingual. He turned professional at the age of 17 in Mexico and scored four victories before losing his fifth bout of year one. Fighting primarily in Mexico and in a variety of weight classes at first, Sandoval began gaining traction on home soil in 2017 and built up his numbers defeating more experienced fighters. Ahead of his breakout victory over Jay Harris on June 25, Sandoval had amassed a record of 18-1 (14) with journeyman Ray Tabugon the highlight of his dossier. Harris was one victory removed from his gallant challenge of top flyweight Julio Cesar Martinez and rated eighth by TBRB. Sandoval came to Bolton, Lancashire, ready to fight and unintimidated by the pro-Harris crowd. The two flyweights fought on even terms for the most part, Harris committing to straight punches and Sandoval finding early success with his overhand right and left hook. Harris remained brave until the finish, as he did with Martinez, but Sandoval was able to level Harris with two separate left hooks to the body and end the night in round eight. The victory sent less shockwaves throughout the boxing community in comparison to Lara’s, but Sandoval claimed Harris’ rating and has since elevated to sixth. The world awaits and is wide open for the baby-faced Sandoval, 22, who has meaningful opportunities with Martinez, Sunny Edwards or Junto Nakatani.

William Zepeda – Lightweight
“Hector Tanajara is the most underrated lightweight in the world,” I said frequently throughout 2019 and 2020. I was excited for his ring return, so others could get on board with this sentiment, even if it was against relatively unknown William Zepeda. At least Zepeda, 25, had nice numbers! Time would show Zepeda had a lot more than just those. Zepeda had a relatively late start to his professional career, albeit by the Mexican standard, at the age of 20 in 2015. He came up the right way, beating debutants and inexperienced pros early on, but, by years three and four, Zepeda was already getting matched against boxers with 20 and 30 bouts. In 2019, he even stopped Eliott Chavez, who owned a first-round KO over the then-unknown Mauricio Lara (Yes, I learned that writing this article.) More progressive victories followed, building up a 22-0 (20) résumé without garnering much attention in spite of an impressive fifth-round stoppage over Roberto Ramirez in his US debut. Tanajara, inactive for a year-and-a half, had already used his superior boxing skills to defeat Roger Gutierrez, Robert Manzanarez and Juan Carlos Burgos. The experience of the blue-chip prospect did not amount to much against Zepeda. The man who hails from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, closed the distance on Tanajara almost immediately and began timing his punches by the first round. Pressure was the real undoing for Tanajara as Zepeda never allowed him to box safely with range. Unlike the first two upsets revisited, which were genuine wars, Zepeda produced a true beatdown. Tanajara struggled to keep his guard up after absorbing too many punches to the arms and shoulders. After six rounds, his own corner saw enough and saved him from ruin. Zepeda, perhaps the new “most underrated lightweight in the world”, sits at 10th in the TBRB standings. His path presents less immediate marquee-fight opportunities as some of the biggest names in the sport reside at the top of the lightweight division. However, some well-travelled names like Jorge Linares, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Masayoshi Nakatani would advance Zepeda’s résumé and case for something larger down the line.

Luis Alberto Lopez – Super-featherweight
Lopez, 28, has fought from featherweight to welterweight seeking the right opportunity. His start varied little from the aforementioned contenders, fighting in Mexico 17 times. Lopez bested unseasoned professionals until he mixed it up with a fellow prospect in Abraham Montoya, which cost him his unbeaten record by split decision after 10 rounds. Nevertheless, he learned and made good on his US debut, outpointing another rising prospect in Ray Ximenez in Washington. It led to a match with Ruben Villa which saw him again losing on points at featherweight. Lopez returned to Mexico and scored three more wins including a stoppage over Cristian Baez, an undefeated Venezuelan, at lightweight. He edged Andy Vences at super-featherweight in his next outing in Las Vegas. Although gaining some steam, Lopez was not expected to beat Gabriel Flores Jr on September 10. Flores was unbeaten and had dominated his last four opponents, which included tough fringe contenders Jayson Velez and Ryan Kielczweski. Flores towered over Lopez by five inches and possessed a three-inch reach advantage; it couldn’t save him though. Lopez dominated the California native and battered him worse than Zepeda owning Tanajara. By the sixth, talk of a mercy stoppage was warranted, but ignored by Flores’ dad in the corner. Lopez’s looping right hooks found their way past Flores’ guard all night and the Mexican out-grinded him on the inside. When it came time for Flores to counter, Lopez used good torso movement to remain elusive. Otherwise, Lopez, 23-2 (12), showed good whiskers absorbing the bigger man’s blows and won lopsidedly on points. Lopez, who hails from Mexicali, Baja California, should settle into one division, but opportunities will likely exist at both 126 and 130lbs. TBRB currently rates Lopez ninth at super-featherweight. A Roger Gutierrez fight would be a scorcher and a sure way to gain more clout in either division.

Vladimir Hernandez – Super-welterweight
Vladimir Hernandez has the least number of bouts and lowest winning percentage on the list plus, at 32, he is the oldest, but he has the biggest win and names on his résumé thus far. Hernandez, 13-4 (6), has split his career between Mexico and the United States, but holds strong to his Durango roots. His career began, arguably, in even greater obscurity and his first few years were marred by inactivity and defeat. Inside his first 10 outings, Hernandez faced opponents with twice as many bouts and greater experience; he lost both, but gained good rounds going 12 and eight rounds, respectively. In 2018, Hernandez was selected for the high-profile HBO debut of Israil Madrimov and got stopped in three. He would be used again as a last-minute opponent for Souleymane Cissokho on a DAZN card. He lost on points after eight rounds. Hernandez was at a cross-roads and could have either continued taking good paydays to lose or find better advocacy for his career. He topped a winning fighter in his next outing. When matched with Alfredo Angulo, it looked like a safe opportunity for the former contender to rebuild following his defeat of Peter Quillin in 2019. However, Hernandez ended his chances of further contention by taking a split decision in Los Angeles. Julian “J-Rock” Williams seemed a much greater task for Hernandez on October 9 underneath Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III, but the hard-head Stockton, CA resident persevered after a tough opening few rounds. It was a grind all night long, but Hernandez was able to give and take better than his higher-rated opponent. The victory earned him TBRB’s number 10 spot at 154lbs, a division which just might yield the biggest reward for any of the boxers on this list. Hernandez is durable, but his raw technique may entice some of the bigger names to take the risk to enhance their records. A showdown with Tim Tszyu in Australia has great appeal as does a step up for Sebastian Fundora. I expect the next few months to be interesting for Hernandez.