Javier Martinez could be a boxing diamond in the rough

Boxer Javier Martinez is an emerging talent looking to expand the recognition of his name on the undercard of Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez. 

Super lightweight champions Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez are the headliners of ESPN’s May 22 fight card, which will crown an undisputed champion. But like every card, there’s a hungry emerging talent lower on the lineup hoping to be a superstar. Middleweight Javier Martinez could be that fighter on this particular card.

Martinez (3-0,1 KO) is only a year into his professional career, but the 25-year-old middleweight from Milwaukee, Wisc., has many impressive accolades and intangibles that bode well for his boxing future.

Milwaukee is not a hotbed for boxing, but the city helped form Martinez’s skills early in his youth. His father first introduced him to the sport at eight years old.

“Well, my dad introduced me to the game when I was eight years old,” Martinez told FanSided. “All my brothers boxed. I’m the youngest out of five. I’m the only one that really stuck to it. So that’s what got me started.”

It’s a good thing that Martinez stayed dedicated to the sport. As an amateur, Martinez won five national titles and won the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials. Despite winning the trials, Martinez wasn’t selected by Team USA for the Olympics, which caused some controversy.

The decision stung Martinez at the time, but he’s over it now and focuses on his professional aspirations.

“I’ve moved on from that,” said Martinez. “The only thing I do think about is I want to prove the people who all supported me during tough times, the people that had my back that said that I should have been the one to be on an Olympic spot. Yeah, I want to prove to them that I can be a world champion.”

Javier Martinez emerged from a troubled life to find balance in the boxing ring

The snub from the Olympic team still motivates Martinez in a way, but that’s not his biggest motivator. That would be his young son Lionel.

Martinez grew up enveloped by trouble in a rough part of Milwaukee. There was abuse at home and violence on the streets. For a time, Martinez began hanging with a bad crowd, which could have derailed his professional boxing aspirations, but the birth of his son made him reevaluate his choices and lifestyle.

“I went through depression a lot,” revealed Martinez. “When my kid was born, that gave me the motivation I needed to try and better myself. I wasn’t going in the right direction. Back then, I was hanging out with the wrong crowds, doing the wrong things. Once my son was born, I wanted something better for myself.”

Martinez still lives in Milwaukee in the same area on the same block he grew up on, but there’s no temptation to return to his old life.

“That lifestyle is far behind me, you know,” said Martinez. “Now I got better things to look forward to. I’ve got a great team behind me here in Riverside. Got a great promotional company behind me too. It’s just a lot of good things going on for me right now.”

Jorge Capetillo formerly trained Martinez, but Martinez now trains in Riverside, Calif., with Robert Garcia. He felt like Capetillo was trying to bring about too many changes to his style. Garcia makes adjustments but isn’t trying to reinvent Martinez as a boxer.

“Robert Garcia doesn’t really try to like change it,” said Martinez. “He just tries to correct some of the things. It was a great change. It was not something I personally chose to do. It was more of my managers.”

While training with Garcia, Martinez has worked with several big boxing names, including Jose Ramirez. Being around such prosperous fighters made an immediate impact on Martinez.

“You don’t even understand,” laughed Martinez. “I’m over here with like $5 in my pocket. See these guys pull up with like Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and me going into the gym, and everybody looks at me like I’m a potential world champ. You know, that just gives me so much motivation.”

Martinez has come a long way over the years, and he’s hoping the show the world on May 22 that he has the ability to be a future world champion. He fights Calvin Metcalf (10-5-1, 3 KOs) on the Taylor vs. Martinez undercard.

For Martinez, this is just the beginning. He has been undervalued for much of his time in boxing but feels ready to shine bright on the big stage.

Watch Javier Martinez vs. Calvin Metcalf on the undercard of Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez on Saturday, May 22. Prelims can be viewed on ESPN+ at 4:45 p.m. ET. The main card will be on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes at 8 p.m ET.