For the second time in his professional career, 22-year-old Odessan Conrad Martinez will headline an event in his hometown.
This time Martinez is The Boxing Showcase WBC Big Belt Champion and during Thursday’s press conference he said he is ready for the lights to shine on him.
During the press conference, The Boxing Showcase and Gorilla Heavy Hitters announced their partnership to host a boxing event scheduled for mid-October.
Reliable Fight Night Pro Boxing will take place Oct. 15 at the Pan American Ballroom located at 2214 E. Murphy Street.
“I really just feel blessed,” said Martinez, who holds a 4-0 record according to BoxRec. “It’s a great opportunity for the City of Odessa and for the kids to showcase their skills.”
Martinez’s dad, Iram Sanchez, is the owner of Gorilla Heavy Hitters.
During the press conference, Sanchez said thatOdessa has always been known as a football and baseball town and he proclaimed “boxing is here to stay.”
Sanchez said two of his three sons will be on October’s card.
Pedro Martinez, 21, will fight at lightweight, whileConrad Martinez fights at bantam.
Sanchez’s youngest son is 17 and he expects him to join the professional ranks in about a year and fight at featherweight, which is between lightweight and bantam.
“It’s a lot harder to fight in your hometown,” Sanchez said about the opportunity to partner with The Boxing Showcase. “You have the pressure of having to win. You can’t be in the main event and lose at home. We have good opponents. We don’t pick easy fighters. To get up in the rankings, you have to have a good level of opponents.”
October’s fight card is scheduled to feature eight fights.
Odessa mayor Javier Joven said during the press conference The Boxing Showcase wants to bring in at least two events per month. The events could include professional boxing, amateur boxing, MMA or wrestling.
After the press conference, Joven said the ultimate goal of this partnership is to bring Silver Gloves, an annual competition for amateur boxing, to the city.
“We want to go out and apply for an application to try to bring in the Silver Gloves,” Joven said. “This is U.S. amateur boxing that is held in the Metroplex.”
In addition to allowing Gorilla Heavy Hitters to show off their professional talent, Conrad Martinez said during the press conference that he wants the gym to open more doors
for kids.
Martinez said that he wants Gorilla Heavy Hitters to be helping hand to any kid who feels lost.
“I want to encourage kids to stop following other people who are doing things or bad stuff,” Martinez said. “… It’s not the kids fault.
“It all starts with their environment and the people who they hang out with. You have to pay real close attention to who you hang around with because those are the biggest influences in your life whether it’s your friends or family.”
Sanchez said he sees first hand children that show up to the gym early and stay late because they don’t want to go home.
Gorilla Heavy Hitters is located at 607 Royalty Avenue. He said teach everyone from kids to adults.
“I don’t feel pressure, butI feel responsible for a lot of these kids,” Sanchez said.
