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| Carl Jammes Martin scored his biggest win yet. Canelo Promotions |
MANILA—Carl Jammes Martin overcame quite a Halloween scare from Mexican opponent David Picasso to win the WBC silver featherweight title early Sunday (Philippine Time) at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Martin quickly pushed the tempo from the get-go, eventually bleeding Picasso's nose by the end of Round 3.
Despite the bloodied nasal interior, Picasso slowly bounced back and eventually delivered a crucial moment when a jab in Round 7 made Martin slip, ruling it a knockdown.
Martin, however, recovered and came close to getting the knockdown back late into the final period of the 10-round affair, only that Picasso was just saved by the bell.
Guido Cavalleri thought Picasso's knockdown was the difference in the close affair and gave him a 95-94 win.
However, Jorge Gorini and Barry Lindenman believed Martin did just enough to win despite the knockdown and made him the new minor belt holder by split decision.
Gorini had it 95-94, and Lindenman scored it 96-93 for Martin, who stays perfect at 29-0 and moved one significant step closer to finally getting his much-coveted world title shot.
Picasso, on the other hand, suffered his second career loss, with 33 wins and one draw, as he quickly gave up the WBC silver featherweight belt he won late last August.
