Frank “The Ghost” Martin takes on Olympic bronze medalist Artem Harutyunyan in a WBC lightweight title eliminator topping action live on Showtime at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas this Saturday in a Premier Boxing Champions event. The Showtime Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and will see future Hall of Famer and Filipino star Nonito Donaire (pictured) battle Mexico's Alexandro Santiago for the vacant WBC bantamweight championship, plus former title holder Viktor Postol faces Elvis Rodriguez in a ten-round junior welterweight showdown opening the telecast.
One of the sport’s most accomplished active fighters, Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs) has captured titles at flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight. He will look to make another run at bantamweight after capturing the title with a May 2021 knockout of Nordine Oubaali and eventually a defeat to Naoya Inoue in their June 2022 rematch. Representing his native Talibon, Bohol, Philippines, Donaire’s previous campaign at bantamweight began in 2018 by upsetting then unbeaten champion Ryan Burnett in his hometown to capture a title once again, before eventually dropping the belt in the 2019 Fight of the Year in his first matchup against Inoue.
A native of Tijuana, Santiago (27-3-5, 14 KOs) will compete for a bantamweight crown for the first time in his career, as he enters this fight on a three-bout winning streak since a majority decision loss to Gary Antonio Russell in November 2021. The 27-year-old had previously fought for a 115-pound championship in September 2018, battling Jerwin Ancajas to a split-draw. Santiago most recently avenged one of the draws on his record, as he stopped Antonio Nieves in seven rounds last October.
The 28-year-old Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) stamped his status as one of the elite 135-pounders in the sport last December at The Cosmopolitan as he dropped the previously unbeaten Michel Rivera on his way to a dominant unanimous decision . Martin’s initial ascent at 135-pounds saw him begin by stopping then unbeaten Jerry Perez in April 2021 before dispatching of tough contenders Jackson Marinez, Romero Duno and Ryan Kielczweski. Originally from Indianapolis, Ind., Martin now trains in the Dallas-area under the guidance of highly renowned trainer Derrick James and alongside his promoter and unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
Harutyunyan (12-0, 7 KOs) earned a Bronze medal representing Germany at the 2016 Olympics before turning pro in late 2017. Born in Armenia and now fighting out of Hamburg, Germany, Harutyunyan scored a career-best victory by knocking out then unbeaten Samuel Molina in five rounds in September 2021 and most recently defeated Humberto Galindo by unanimous decision last June. The 32-year-old will make his U.S. debut on July 15 after fighting in Germany for his first 12 outings.
Postol (31-4, 12 KOs) returns to the ring after a loss to Gary Antuanne Russell at The Cosmo in February 2022. Fighting out of California and originally from Ukraine, Postol, knocked out Lucas Matthysse in 2015 to capture the WBC 140-pound title before losing a unification showdown against Terence Crawford. Postol had won three of his previous five fights before facing Russell, with the only defeats in that stretch coming against the then-unified champion Jose Ramirez and the former undisputed champion Josh Taylor, both by decision.
Rodríguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs) has bounced back from his first career defeat, a majority decision loss to Kenneth Sims Jr., to defeat three-straight opponents. His most recent fight came in February as he defeated Joseph Adorno by decision to follow up stoppages of Juan Pablo Romero and Juan Jose Velasco. The 27-year-old burst onto the scene with knockout victories in 10 of his first 11 fights and totaled an impressive five wins in 2020. Originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Rodríguez now lives and trains in Los Angeles.
