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The pathway to superstardom was a clear one for Brooklyn’s Chris Colbert. While his loquacious tendencies pushed him into the limelight, his all-around skills allowed him to hover near the top of the 130-pound division. With a world title reign just within his reach, the flamboyant contender was thrown a monkey wrench of sorts.
As the 26-year-old prepared for his first crack at a championship trinket against Roger Gutierrez, he was forced to adjust on the fly as Hector Luis Garcia stepped in on short notice. Despite having little time to prepare, the 31-year-old out of the Dominican Republic floored the previously undefeated Colbert before cruising to a unanimous decision victory.
Anxious to redeem himself, Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) fulminated back-and-forth with top 135-pound contender, Frank Martin. Although Colbert competes one weight class below his man, he expressed a willingness to acquiesce to Martin’s weight demands. While it appeared as though the two would face off in the immediate future, talks of their showdown broke down, forcing Martin to go in another direction.
On December 17th, at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada, the hard-hitting Martin will officially swap fists with the fundamentally sound Michel Rivera. As both Martin and Colbert move forward, Aureliano Sosa, Colbert’s trainer, expounds on what exactly went wrong during negotiations.
“I believe the fight was supposed to be due for January 7th,” said Sosa during an interview with BoxingScene.com. “But for whatever reason, they wanted to move it up to December 17th. I told them we needed a little more time than December 17th, and they took Michel.”
In the interim, Colbert will reportedly return to the ring in the first quarter of 2023 against a yet-to-be-named opponent. Martin, as previously mentioned, will look to secure the biggest win of his career on the 17th of December.
In what has turned into a banner year, the 27-year-old from Detroit, Michigan, scored back-to-back devastating knockout victories against Romero Duno and Jackson Marinez. Rivera, on the other hand, seemingly lacks the pernicious KO capability of his upcoming foe. But the paucity of his power, ultimately, is made up for with comprehensive boxing skills.
As their showdown nears, Sosa is admittedly intrigued. Although the renowned trainer respects what Martin brings to the table, when tasked with the painstaking decision to pick a winner, Sosa gritted his teeth before pulling the trigger.
“Frank is a ruthless aggressive fighter so it’s definitely going to be a good ass fight. I lean a little more towards Michel. He definitely knows how to use his distance, he definitely has a great jab. So I think Martin is going to have a little hard time getting to him but it’s definitely going to be a good fight.”