Dan Rafael: Raul Martinez
Of all the possible scenarios, junior bantamweight contender Raul Martinez got the worst possible news on Friday: he has a torn left biceps and a torn left rotator cuff in his shoulder.
San Antonio’s Martinez returned from a 10-month layoff last Saturday to score a sensational one-punch knockout of Juan Jimenez in the third round in Tulum, Mexico on Golden Boy’s Fox Deportes card.
Martinez was trying to end the fight as quickly as possible because he had injured his arm in the second round and was not sure if he would be able to continue for much longer. Of course, he hoped the injury was not too severe but the doctor in Mexico diagnosed a torn biceps and that was confirmed on Friday in addition to the unexpected news about his rotator cuff.
Martinez had an MRI exam on Thursday in San Antonio and got the results on Friday.
According to manager Michael Miller, Martinez has a “complete tear of the left biceps and he’s also got a tear in his left rotator cuff.”
Miller said Martinez will see orthopedic surgeon Dr. Phil Jacobs of San Antonio on Tuesday and “we’ll go from there.” Jacobs is the same surgeon who operated on junior middleweight contender James Kirkland’s injured shoulder earlier this year.
Martinez (29-2, 17 KOs), 30, likely will be headed for an extended layoff of several months but Miller said he was in good spirits.
“He’s glad to find out the pain wasn’t a figment of his imagination and he’s very upbeat,” Miller said. “He said he heals quickly and he’s hopeful that he can go through physical therapy and not surgery, but we’ll listen to what Dr. Jacobs says and follow his recommendation. But Raul’s goal is to fight again before the end of the year.”
Martinez has had two world title shots, losing a flyweight title bout to Nonito Donaire in 2009 and a 2011 vacant junior bantamweight title fight to Rodrigo Guerrero.
After 10 months out of the ring, during which he time he changed promoters, longtime flyweight and junior bantamweight contender Raul Martinez of San Antonio returned to action Saturday in Tulum, Mexico, and scored a sensational third-round knockout.
Martinez drilled Juan Jimenez (10-4, 9 KOs) with a flush right hand to the face that decked him and left him with blood pouring out of his nose. It turns out that Martinez (29-2, 17 KOs) was a bit desperate for the early stoppage after injuring his left biceps in the second round.
"In the second round, he threw a punch, sort of a looping punch, and it missed and he said he felt a lot of pain in his arm," manager Michael Miller said. "Raul came back to the corner and told [trainer and former world champion James Leija] that he thought he tore something. Leija said to him, 'If you think you tore something, then you gotta go out there and knock this guy out.' Raul said he knew he had to do something out of desperation because he knew if he didn't get him out of there quickly, this was going to be a long night if he didn’t.'
Miller said the doctor in Mexico diagnosed Martinez, 30, with a torn biceps, but it has not been confirmed.
"He went for some physical therapy [on Monday] and he will have an MRI on Wednesday," Miller said. "He may be out of action for a couple of months. He wants to work through it. I told him if it's screwed up let's just get it fixed. If it's not, you can take a little time off and then we'll move on, but you want to know what exactly is wrong."
Martinez, who unsuccessfully challenged Nonito Donaire for a flyweight title in 2009 and Rodrigo Guerrero for a vacant junior bantamweight title in 2011, is with Golden Boy now after parting ways with Top Rank. Assuming everything is OK with his arm, Martinez probably looms as an eventual challenger for Golden Boy-promoted bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz.
Martinez drilled Juan Jimenez (10-4, 9 KOs) with a flush right hand to the face that decked him and left him with blood pouring out of his nose. It turns out that Martinez (29-2, 17 KOs) was a bit desperate for the early stoppage after injuring his left biceps in the second round.
"In the second round, he threw a punch, sort of a looping punch, and it missed and he said he felt a lot of pain in his arm," manager Michael Miller said. "Raul came back to the corner and told [trainer and former world champion James Leija] that he thought he tore something. Leija said to him, 'If you think you tore something, then you gotta go out there and knock this guy out.' Raul said he knew he had to do something out of desperation because he knew if he didn't get him out of there quickly, this was going to be a long night if he didn’t.'
Miller said the doctor in Mexico diagnosed Martinez, 30, with a torn biceps, but it has not been confirmed.
"He went for some physical therapy [on Monday] and he will have an MRI on Wednesday," Miller said. "He may be out of action for a couple of months. He wants to work through it. I told him if it's screwed up let's just get it fixed. If it's not, you can take a little time off and then we'll move on, but you want to know what exactly is wrong."
Martinez, who unsuccessfully challenged Nonito Donaire for a flyweight title in 2009 and Rodrigo Guerrero for a vacant junior bantamweight title in 2011, is with Golden Boy now after parting ways with Top Rank. Assuming everything is OK with his arm, Martinez probably looms as an eventual challenger for Golden Boy-promoted bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz.
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Dan Rafael
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Rafael began writing for ESPN.com in March 2005 after working for five years as the boxing writer for USA Today. He can be reached on Twitter at danrafaelespn.