Julio Cesar Martinez-Cristofer Rosales confirmed for December 20th

Today’s news theme seems to be “fights we’ve known about for ages getting confirmed.” The latest iteration is the vacant WBC flyweight title fight between Julio Cesar Martinez and Cristofer Rosales, which joins the ongoing trainwreck that is Daniel Jacobs-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Phoenix on December 20th.

Both men formerly held the belt, though for markedly different periods of time. Rosales (29-4, 20 KO) shocked Daigo Higa last year to claim the belt the latter lost on the scales, then brutalized Paddy Barnes in his first defense. Eight months after the Higa victory, he lost the belt to Charlie Edwards, who in turn briefly lost it to Martinez (14-1, 11 KO) by knockout before the WBC declared it a no contest over an illegal punch.

As we’ve said before, this is an exponentially better and far more competitive bout than the main event. These are two truly elite flyweights with power and mean streaks to match. Maybe Eddie Hearn breaking the law to bring us this mess will be worth it after all.