Top Rank recently revealed that they have signed a co-promotonal deal with Spanish contender Sandor Martin who is currently the mandatory WBC challenger at 140 lbs. Martin’s deal with Top Rank concerns a multi-fight deal, and Devin Haney might be one of the fights Martin can secure. Haney is currently the WBC champion of the super lightweight division since he defeated the former incumbent champion, Regis Prograis, on December 9th. Sandor Martin’s deal with Top Rank involves Martin’s longtime Italian promotion ‘OPI Since 82’.
Sandor Martin’s (42-3, 15 KO’s) move towards Top Rank may potentially also see him rematch Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KO’s) following their December 2022 bout which saw Martin narrowly lose by split-decision. Lopez, 26, is also signed to Top Rank and is set to defend his 140 lbs WBO title against Jamaine Ortiz (17-1-1, 8 KO’s) on February 8.
For now, Martin appears to be focused on Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s) given his his #1 position on the WBC’s 140 lbs rankings and his mandatory challenger status:
“Devin Haney calls himself ‘The Dream,’ but I am his worst nightmare,” Martin told Top Rank.
“I will be the next WBC junior welterweight world champion. Whether he wants to lose his title to me in the ring or run up the scales to welterweight, the choice is his. I am excited for the next chapter of my career with OPI Since 82 and Top Rank in my corner.”
While Haney has recently fought for Matchroom on DAZN, he is presumably still a free agent given there has been no report of him signing with Matchroom on anything other than a one-fight deal which involved Prograis. Regardless of Haney’s contract status, the WBC has already appointed Sandor Martin as the mandatory challenger and dictated during their annual convention last November that the winner of Haney-Prograis would need to defend their title against Martin .
Despite Martin’s decade-long tenure in the sport of boxing, he has yet to compete for a world title―making a potential bout against Haney his first-ever world title fight. Martin, 30, previously held several mid-tier or regional titles including the EBU European super lightweight title.
