Immanuwel Aleeem vs Lester Martinez Preview March 21st, 2026
Undefeated Lester Martinez of Guatemala takes on Immanuwel Aleem of East Meadow, New York for the interim WBC World Middleweight Title this Saturday, March 21st. Martinez last fought in September when he battled to a 10-round draw with Christian Mbili in an excellent fight while Aleem’s last contest resulted in a ninth-round TKO over Demond Nicholson for the vacant Universal Boxing Organization Inter-Continental, and the WBC Fecarbox Light Heavyweight Titles. Saturday’s 12-round bout from San Bernadino, California can be seen live on Probox and on their YouTube channel as well as on Fubo Sports.
Aleem vs Martinez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Immanuwel Aleem +825
- Lester Martinez -2000
My Pick
The 32-year-old Aleem, who fights out of Richmond, Virginia enters the ring with a record of 22-3-3 with 14 Ko’s and has boxed 153 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012. As an amateur he reached the semifinals of the 2010 USA Junior National Championships. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 70-inch reach and has pretty good power in his fists as 63.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, including five of his last six. However he has six wins, three losses and three draws in his past dozen outings.
Aleem’s first defeat came at the hands of Hugo Centeno Jr via a third-round KO in 2017. He then dropped a 10-round majority decision to Ronald Ellis in 2019 and a 10-round majority decision in his next fight to Amilcar Vidal Jr. in 2021. Aleem’s three draws were against Demond Nicholson over eight rounds in 2016; 10 rounds against Matvey Korobov in 2019 and an eight-round technical draw with Winfred Harris in 2024.
In 2017, Aleem captured the vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Belt with a sixth-round TKO over Ievgen Khytrov and in 2024 he won the vacant WBC Fecarbox, and Universal Boxing Organization Continental Super Middleweight Titles by stopping Malcolm Jones in four rounds. Aleem has fought some good opponents over the years but nobody on the elite level and he’s also displayed a pretty solid chin during his career.
The 30-year-old Martinez hails from Guatemala City and he’s entering the contest with a near-perfect mark of 19-0-1 with 16 Ko’s to his name. The only fight he hasn’t won was the draw with Mbili in his last outing and he’s fought just 84 rounds since making his pro debut in 2019. Martinez enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won a silver medal as a light-welterweight at the Youth World Championships in 2012 captured a gold as a middleweight at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2018.
Martinez measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 71.5-inch reach so is an inch shorter than Aleem but has a 1.5-inch edge in reach. When it comes to power, Martinez has plenty of it as his current knockout ratio clocks in at 84.2 per cent. He’s gone the distance just four times as Carlos Congora took him 10 rounds in 2024 while Rodolfo Gomez Jr did the same in 2022 and Raiko Santana also went 10 rounds with him in 2021. and of course, he went the distance with Mbili. In his pro debut, Martinez stopped former world champion Ricardo Mayorga in the second round and won the vacant WBC Latino Super Middleweight Title in 2020 by halting Uriel Gonzalez in the first round.
Prediction…
Martinez has exceptional power and stamina and isn’t shy about letting his hands go. Aleem likely won’t be able to match his punch output, but does have a decent chin. Still, Martinez has the edge here due to his pure aggressiveness and I’m expecting him to leave the ring with the interim title and he could possibly do it by stoppage.
Mbilli in a tossup as he has slightly better skills.
Play: Martinez -180 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.