In a fight that most of us missed as it took place over the course of a very big boxing weekend – what with the whole Jake Paul Vs. Mike Tyson event going down on Friday night, with it’s under card, and with the brilliant and fun card that was “Latino Night” taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia the following night – former IBF heavyweight champ “Prince” Charles Martin returned to action for his first fight in some 16 months on Saturday. Southpaw Martin ironed out journeyman Matthew McKinney in the opening round of their fight in Redwood City, California.
Martin, now aged 38, drove McKinney into a corner and blasted him with a big left hand to the head that laid him out instantly. McKinney, aged 43, had no chance of beating the count and the short affair was over with. Martin is now 30-4-1(27). McKinney falls to 17-9-3(13).
Martin – who briefly reigned as IBF heavyweight champion in 2016, with Martin beating Vyacheslav Glazkov for the IBF belt that had been stripped from Tyson Fury, and with Martin then losing it in a pitiful fight with Anthony Joshua just three months later – can fight when he wants to, when he’s in proper shape mentally as well as physically. In his last fight prior to Saturday night’s easy win, Martin pushed Jared Anderson hard for all ten rounds. How much Martin has left today at age 38, we can only guess.
Martin remains a pretty recognisable name and maybe there are some decent fights out there for him. It could be that Martin winds up testing a young prospect in a fight some time soon. Martin will never be a champion again, but it’s possible he can still pick up a good payday or two here and there. Let’s see who Martin is matched with next time out.
