Lester Martinez has his sights set well beyond his August 29 title defense, but the Guatemalan champion knows he has business to handle first.
Martinez (20-0-1, 16 KOs) will defend his interim WBC super middleweight title against unbeaten Croatian contender Luka Plantic (13-0, 10 KOs) at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. While focused on preserving his unbeaten record, Martinez admitted he will be paying close attention to the October showdown between Christian Mbilli and Canelo Alvarez.
“I’m going to be looking at this fight coming up with Canelo and Mbilli. I’m going to be one of the most interested,” Martinez said. “Right now, my immediate focus is on Luka and taking care of business on August 29, defending my title. Then we can look forward to that tremendous fight and hope that, yes or yes, we fight the winner.”
Martinez believes a victory over Plantic should put him in position for either a rematch with Mbilli or a shot at Canelo.
“I’m gonna train very hard. I’m gonna do everything I can to make things work, so I can defend my title, and then move on to fight either the rematch (against Mbilli) or the fight against Canelo. I hope that after my defense, that’s the fight that comes next.”
The 29-year-old earned the interim WBC belt in May by defeating Kareem Hackett Aleem and is coming off the biggest result of his career, a draw with Mbilli last September on Turki Alalshikh’s Las Vegas card. Martinez admitted there were aspects of his last performance that he wants to improve before facing Plantic.
“There was a lot of pressure last time out. There was a lot of pressure winning the belt and performing,” Martinez said. “We learned from them… there’s always room for improvement. Aleem showed good resistance. He was a very good, strong opponent. But this time around, we’re gonna do things much better. Trust me.”
Martinez also revealed his training camp will be longer this time around as he prepares for what he described as another dangerous unbeaten opponent.
“We’re fighting a very dangerous opponent. There’s a reason he’s here. He’s in the top 10. He’s undefeated, and he’s earned that. But we’re going to make the adjustments. Our camp is going to be longer this time.”
Although Martinez hopes to secure a shot at the winner of Canelo-Mbilli, the super middleweight division is crowded with titleholders and leading contenders all chasing the same opportunity. His immediate task remains defending his interim belt against Plantic before any discussions about a rematch with Mbilli or a blockbuster fight with Canelo can become a reality.
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Last Updated on 2026/06/29 at 10:48 PM
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