Is Roman Martinez the Best Super Featherweight in the World?
Up until a few years ago, the super featherweight division was one of the deepest and most entertaining divisions in all of boxing. The weight class featured some of the top names in the sport such as veterans Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera along with young talent like Robert Guerrero and Humberto Soto. However, the biggest names in the division have either moved up to higher weight classes or retired in recent years, robbing the division of much of its firepower.
With the loss of talented fighters within the division in the past few years, it’s not surprising that the current crop of elite super featherweights is relatively young and inexperienced. Roman Martinez might be the best of the bunch. At 27, Martinez has fought just 25 times as a professional and only earned his first world title last March. Still, the WBO champion has the combination of talent and charisma which have led many to peg him as the fighter who can bring the super featherweight division back to its previous position as one of the best in the sport.
Best Super Featherweight Champ
So is Roman Martinez the best super featherweight in the world? One thing that is almost certain is that he is the best super featherweight who is currently a world champion. The IBF super featherweight title is currently vacant, leaving two other world titlists within the weight class: WBC champion Vitali Tajbert and WBA king Takashi Uchiyama.
It’s hard to take Tajbert (20-1, 6 KOs) seriously as a champion since he hasn’t beaten anyone notable - his only career loss came against his highest-quality opponent when he was outpointed by Siarhei Guliakevich in 2008. Meanwhile, Uchiyama (15-0, 12 KOs) has knocked out fighters like Juan Carlos Salgado but with only 15 career fights, the 30-year-old has much to prove to be considered a world-class fighter.
Two South African veterans could also make a case for being the top fighters in the division despite currently not having a championship belt. Malcolm Klassen (25-2-2, 15 KOs) was considered by many to be the top super featherweight in the world after being Cassius Baloyi for the IBF title in March 2009. However, he dropped the belt in his most recent fight last August when Guerrero handed him a lopsided defeat.
Mzonke Fana (29-4, 12 KOs) dropped the IBF super featherweight title to Baloyi in April 2008 but has won his last two fights to earn another title shot. He’ll square off against Baloyi again in August to compete for the IBF title that both men have held but which became vacant when Guerrero took a leave of absence from the sport to care for his cancer-stricken wife. While Fana is talented and has fought against some of the big names in the sport, he is also 36 and appears to be on the downside of his career.
Looking at the division as a whole, Martinez almost has to be considered the best super featherweight in the world by default. This isn’t to say that Martinez lacks talent on his own. He’s beaten some of the top fighters in the division in recent years, including knocking out Nicky Cook to claim the WBO crown last March. Unlike some of the other top fighters in the division, Martinez has true knockout power. He’s also a skilled boxer whose defensive ability has improved in his last few fights.
Martinez’s next title defence will be against Ricky Burns (28-2, 7 KOs) on September 4 in Glasgow. Burns has an impressive record which has unfortunately been padded against lacklustre talent. There’s little reason to suspect that Martinez won’t have an easy time of it against Burns. Martinez might be the best super featherweight in the world but what he needs is quality competition so that he can prove it.
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