A world title fight has been added to the undercard for next month’s Matchroom Boxing in Frisco, Texas.
WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez will defend his title for the first time against unbeaten contender Jay Harris on February 29. The fight will be part of a DAZN card headlined by a welterweight fight between Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas.
JUST ADDED -- #MartinezHarris
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 3, 2020
Flyweight sensation Julio Cesar Martinez makes the first defense of his WBC World crown against @jayharris19 in Texas!
-- Feb 29 #GarciaVargas
-- Ford Center, @thestarinfrisco, TX
-- Announcement coming soon pic.twitter.com/opc0MijMjz
The 24-year-old Martinez won the WBC title on December 20 when he stopped Cristofer Rosales in an action-packed bout in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to that, Martinez looked to have captured the WBC title in August when he seemingly knocked out Charlie Edwards in the third round.
However, replays showed that Martinez hit Edwards while he was down and so the fight result was overturned to a no contest, allowing Edwards to keep the title. Edwards would go on to later vacate the title weeks later, paving the road for Martinez vs. Rosales for the then-vacant title last month.
Harris has won all 17 of his pro bouts, winning nine of those bouts by knockout. Harris had a busy 2019, winning three fights as well as the EBU European and IBF Intercontinental titles. In his most recent fight, Harris scored a fourth-round knockout victory over Paddy Barnes, sending the former title challenger into retirement.
