McWilliams Arroyo anticipates an action fight against Julio Cesar Martinez

Multiple fight cancellations have kept flyweights McWilliams Arroyo and Julio Cesar Martinez apart, but they finally meet on Friday, Nov. 19. 

McWilliams Arroyo won the interim WBC flyweight boxing title in February by stopping Abraham Rodriguez in round 5. Now, he gets a chance to earn the complete WBC title on Friday, Nov. 19.

Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) was supposed to fight full champion Julio Cesar Martinez on multiple occasions, but something always came up to keep them apart. They were supposed to fight in August 2020, but Martinez canceled the bout due to a reported throat infection.

Then, they were supposed to fight in February, but Martinez canceled again due to a hand injury. That’s when the WBC allowed Arroyo to fight for the interim title against Rodriguez. Winning the title means a lot to Arroyo, but his quest of being a world champion feels incomplete due to the word “interim.”

“People are not giving me my props and what people don’t understand is that it’s not my fault that I fought for the interim title,” Arroyo told FanSided. “I’ve been preparing myself since August 2020. We were gonna fight the first time. So it’s not my fault or neither my problem, but it is what it is.”

Arroyo is plenty prepared to fight Martinez at this point. The extra time has been both an aid, in a sense, but also frustrating.

Julio Cesar Martinez vs. McWilliams Arroyo could be the fight of the night on the Friday, Nov. 19 Matchroom card

“Well, actually, a little bit of both, but you know, I don’t let that get to me,” said Arroyo. “I go day by day, and I say, whenever it happens, it happens. So hopefully, this time will be it.”

We’re only days away from their title bout, but Arroyo doesn’t feel the fight is guaranteed until he and Martinez are in the ring together. The past still haunts him a bit.

“I’m not sure if the fights gonna happen until the bell rings, and we’re both in the ring,” said Arroyo half-jokingly. “Last time, the fight got called out the day before the weigh-in, so that was kind of crazy.”

Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) won the WBC title in 2019, defeating Cristofer Rosales by TKO in round 9. He fought twice in 2020, but the reasons mentioned above kept him from battling Arroyo. Arroyo anticipates this contest being a war in the ring.

“All-action fight because I’m an action-type fighter, and he is too,” said Arroyo. “The fans are gonna love this fight. Unless one of us hurt each other, and one goes down and can’t get up, they’re gonna see a full-pack fight.”

The fans in attendance at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH, and watching at home on DAZN are in for a treat. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.