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Charles Lee Martin (born April 24, 1986) is an American
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
. He held the IBF
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
title in 2016. His 85-day reign as champion is the second-shortest in heavyweight boxing history, after
Tony Tucker Tony Craig Tucker (born December 27, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion at just 64 days. In an inte ...
's 64 days in 1987 (also as IBF champion).


Amateur career

Martin had 64 fights as an
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, having started boxing at the age of 22. In 2012 he won the National PAL Championships.


Professional career


Early career

Martin turned professional on October 27, 2012. He made his TV debut on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
July 19, 2013, when he beat Aaron Kinch by a fourth-round TKO. On September 21, he beat then-undefeated Vincent Thompson (13–0). The fight was in Thompson's home state Washington and Martin got a unanimous decision. He dropped Thompson in the first round, for the first time in his career. On October 25, Martin defeated Haitian Dieuly Aristilde, by TKO in round one. On November 14, Martin became the first man to ever stop Joey Dawejko. Martin dropped Dawejko in the 4th round. Dawejko's corner asked to get the fight stopped between the 4th and 5th rounds. Charles Martin fought 11 times in 2013. On December 21 he won against undefeated Cuban heavyweight Glendy Hernandez (10–0).


Rise up the ranks

On April 16, 2014 Martin won the vacant WBO–NABO
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
title by beating former undefeated boxer Alexander Flores by KO in the 4th round. Martin was in a non-title fight a month later against 38-year-old journeyman Rafael Pedro at the
Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. The pier is part of the greater Santa Monic ...
in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In an overmatched fight, Martin floored Pedro twice in round one winning the bout via knockout. In July 2014, Martin successfully defended the title for the first time at BB King Blues Club & Grill in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
against 37-year-old veteran Kertson Manswell. Manswell hadn't fought in seven months, since his loss to Wendell Jorkhu. Martin entered the bout with a seven-fight knockout streak. Martin won via the third knockdown rule, knocking Manswell down three times in round 3, forcing the stoppage. After a six-month gap, Martin returned to fight Damon McCreary (15–3, 11 KOs) in a non-title six-round bout. Martin won after 2 minutes into the first round via TKO. Martin made a defence of the title on February 28, 2015 against former Brazilian heavyweight champion Raphael Zumbano Love (35–9–1, 28 KOs) at the Celebrity Theater in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
. Martin won via TKO in the 10th and final round with a minute remaining. Martin's next defence came on April 25, on the undercard of Klitschko-Jennings at the
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
against British boxer Tom Dallas. The fight lasted one round as Dallas was knocked out by a straight left hand to the head from Martin. Martin made his fourth and final defence of his WBO–NABO title on September 25 at the Legacy Arena in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
against Mexican WBO latino
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
champion Vicente Sandez (15–4, 10 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round fight. By the third round, Martin was ahead on all three judges' scorecards 20–17, knocking Sandez down in round 2. The fight was stopped by referee Flynn Gerald, 35 seconds into round 3 following another knockdown.


IBF heavyweight champion


Martin vs. Glazkov

Following
Tyson Fury Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2024. He held multiple world heavyweight championships, including unified titles from 2015 to 2016, the '' Ring'' magazine title twice bet ...
's win against
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...
in November 2015 in becoming the new unified heavyweight champion, the IBF ordered Fury to make a mandatory defence against Vyacheslav Glazkov. However, Fury opted to take the rematch against Klitschko, thus being stripped of the IBF title in the process. The IBF then ordered Glazkov to fight Martin for a vacant world title on January 16 at
Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. Glaskov's purse for the fight was $804,700, whilst Martin had a purse of $433,300. Martin claimed the vacant title by stopping Glazkov in the third round, due to injury. By round 3, the scorecards were (19–19, 20–18 Glazkov, and 20–18 Martin). Glazkov slipped to the canvas when he fell backwards after trying to dodge a right hook from Martin. Referee Earl Brown ruled it a slip, but Glazkov appeared to hurt his right knee following the fall. When the fight resumed, Glazkov threw a right body hook but was hit by Martins left jab and went down again after losing his balance. He dropped to the canvas clearly in pain. The fight was stopped, with the ringside doctor diagnosing him with a torn right ACL. According to CompuBox, Martin landed 26 of 105 punches (25 percent), and Glazkov connected on 19 of 64 blows (30 percent). After winning the IBF title, Martin narrowed down a shortlist of boxers he could make his first defence against. The three names were former world title challengers
Chris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweigh ...
, Artur Szpilka and rising contender Dominic Breazeale.


Martin vs. Joshua

Martin chose to make the first defence of his title against rising British star and 2012 Olympic gold medalist
Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He held the unified champion, unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British Boxing Board of C ...
at
The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 9 April 2016. It was reported that Martin would bank £6 million ($8.5 m) for the defense against Joshua. Joshua set the pace in the first round and kept the southpaw Martin at bay before sending him to the canvas with a straight right hand in the second round. Martin got to his feet only to be knocked down for a second time by a similar punch just moments later. This time Martin failed to beat the count after taking too long to get up, and the referee counted Martin out, with Joshua winning his first world title. Martin was heavily criticized for his performance, and apparent lack of ambition to win the fight. Observers accused him of quitting early, feeling that he could have got up quicker and fought on. Martin later placed the blame on the pre-fight distractions, claiming that he was 'mentally not there'. At just 85 days, Martin's reign as IBF heavyweight champion was the second-shortest in professional boxing history, with only
Tony Tucker Tony Craig Tucker (born December 27, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1998. He won the IBF heavyweight title in 1987, and was the shortest-reigning world heavyweight champion at just 64 days. In an inte ...
's 1987 reign being shorter.


Post-title career

On April 17, 2017 Martin announced that he would make a return on April 25 in a non-televised fight against 37-year-old journeyman Byron Polley (30–20–1, 13 KOs, 3 NC) at the Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel in Tunica,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
in a scheduled 10-round bout. Martin won the fight via second-round TKO. In the post fight, he said, “I’m just back to finish what I started ... Now I’m back and I’m ready to be undisputed, like my plans were originally, undisputed champ.” Polley was dropped two times in the second before the fight was stopped 51 seconds into the round. Martin continued his comeback trail on July 18 at the Rapides Coliseum in
Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...
against 31-year-old journeyman Michael Marrone (21–7, 15 KOs). Martin won the bout in the first round via knockout. A first knockdown occurred after Martin landed a left hook, then a left shot to the body floored Marrone again. Marrone was then counted out by referee Kenny Saintes.


Martin vs. Kownacki

In July 2018, Showtime announced it was planning an event to take place on September 8, headlined by Danny García vs.
Shawn Porter Shawn Christian Porter (born October 27, 1987) is an American sports commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2021. He was a two-time welterweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2013 to 2014 and the WB ...
for the vacant WBC welterweight title. It was rumoured that Martin would challenge Polish rising contender Adam Kownacki (17-0, 14 KO) on the undercard. On August 1, the card was confirmed to take place at the
Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...
in New York City. Kownacki was coming into the bout with wins over Artur Szpilka and Iago Kiladze. Martin started the fight slow, being forced to box on the back foot, allowing Kownacki to take a lead on the scorecards. It was from round 3 when Martin began opening up and letting his hands go. The fight had lots of action throughout the 10 rounds. The final round was considered a potential round of the year by pundits and commentators, which saw both boxers trade to the head and body. All three judges scored the bout 96–94 in favor of Kownacki. Both boxers earned a $100,000 purse for the fight. After the fight, Martin said, "I believed I got the win. I did work on the inside and no one saw that. I did really good work on the inside. I will get back in the gym. Looks are very deceiving. I put up a hell of a fight and I came up just short." According to CompuBox stats, Martin landed 203 punches of 621 thrown (33%) and Kownacki landed 242 of his 729 landed (33%). The fight, which opened Showtime's telecast, averaged 395,000 viewers and peaked at 503,000 viewers.


Martin vs. Corbin

On 16 March 2019, Martin faced Gregory Corbin. Corbin was no match for Martin, as Martin dominated each round. In the fourth round, Corbin hit Martin under the belt, for which he was penalized by the referee. Corbin continued his antics in the fifth and sixth round, and by the eighth round the referee had seen enough and disqualified Corbin, awarding Martin with the victory.


Martin vs Martz

On July 13, 2019, Martin faced Daniel Martz. Martin dominated the fight, as he dropped Martz twice, once in the third and once in the fourth round, the latter proving to be the decisive one.


Martin vs Washington

On February 22, 2020, Martin, ranked #11 by the IBF faced fellow contender Gerald Washington, ranked #9 by the IBF on the Deontay Wilder - Tyson Fury undercard. Martin landed a straight left on Washington in the sixth round, followed by another straight left which sent Washington to the canvas. Washington managed to beat the count, but referee Tony Weeks deemed Washington not fit to continue fighting, awarding Martin with the TKO victory.


Personal life

Martin was born in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, before moving to
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
and Phoenix after the age of 12. Martin started doing construction work from the age of 14 and had his first son at a young age. He has four children. In the early hours of August 5, 2016, it was reported by Sky Sports that Martin had been shot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. He was allegedly involved in an altercation with two men that resulted in him having a gunshot wound to his forearm as he was driving away. He underwent surgery for the wound. Martin checked out of hospital following surgery on August 10.


Professional boxing record


References


External links

*
Charles Martin - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Charles 1986 births Living people African-American boxers World heavyweight boxing champions International Boxing Federation champions Boxers from St. Louis American male boxers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen