(February 12th) Boxing history will be on the line when WBC #3-ranked Lester Martinez faces WBC FECARBOX and #14-ranked Immanuwel “The Chosen One” Aleem on Saturday, March 21, as the WBC Board of Governors has voted unanimously in favor to sanction the fight for the WBC Interim World Super Middleweight Championship.

Martinez (19-0-1, 16 KOs) from Guatemala City, Guatemala, will be looking to become his country’s first-ever world champion when he takes on Richmond, Virginia’s Aleem (22-3-3, 14 KOs) in the main event of ProBoxTV’s “The Contender Series,” broadcast live (7 pm EST/4 pm PST) from the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, California.

“I really thought I won the fight on September 13, and it’s been frustrating to not get a rematch with Mbilli,” said Lester Martinez. “I very much appreciate Mauricio and the WBC Board of Governors for giving me this opportunity. It’s been my dream to be the first Guatemalan champion ever. I can’t wait for March 21.”

It’s been a roller coaster ride to get to this dream fight for Martinez, who hasn’t been in the ring since his “Fight of the Year” split draw with now WBC World Champion Christian Mbilli in a battle for the interim world title in September. Considered a highlight of the entire show, the fight was televised live on Netflix on the undercard of Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez.

Because of the competitive nature of the fight, the WBC ordered an immediate rematch between the two, which was effectively canceled earlier this year after Crawford was abruptly stripped of the WBC belt he won beating Alvarez and Mbilli was elevated to full champion.

Martinez personally petitioned the WBC to elevate his fight with Aleem to an interim title fight earlier this week while being honored with a ring in the shape of the sanctioning body’s symbolic green and gold belt for his Fight of the Year with Mbilli.

His efforts appear to have worked, as the approval is granted and the 30-year-old is now one fight away from boxing history.

The WBC based its support elevating Martinez vs. Aleem to a title fight based on a few important factors: Mbilli vs Martinez was awarded the Fight of the year 2025 by the WBC. A rematch for such fight was ordered by the WBC but for a variety of reasons such could not be materialized. Mbilli, who is the WBC World Champion, will not be active for a prolonged period of time, while Martinez vs Aleem has been secured to happen in the immediate future.

“As President of the WBC, I am thrilled to know such an amazing young man as Lester,” said Mauricio Sulaiman, “We are committed to supporting boxing and its development, worldwide.”

ProBoxTV’s Garry Jonas says he’s happy for Lester and his team, who was one point, or two rounds, away from winning a fight many thought he deserved to win. One judge scored it 97-93 for Martinez, one had it 96-94 for Mbilli, and one saw it even at 95-95. Jonas is also excited to be able to present a world championship fight in his March 21 main event.

“I’d like to thank the WBC for granting Lester this opportunity,” said ProBoxTV CEO and Founder Garry Jonas. “I know it’s not easy doing their job with all the twists and turns that can take place at this level of the sport. This is a fair and reasonable outcome that Lester gets a chance to fight for the same belt he competed with Mbilli for. This is a big deal for Lester and his country. Guatemala has never had a world champion and we’re very hopeful he can bring the belt home on March 21.”

What is ProBox TV

ProBox TV is a new source of premium boxing content. We will offer live events and robust supporting content, brought to you by our founders, former champions Roy Jones Jr, Juan Manuel Marquez, Antonio Tarver and Paul Malignaggi.

Our motivation for creating ProBox TV is simple. Boxing fans have been taken for granted. They’ve been underserved regarding the quality of content. Further, the other networks involved in boxing lack a commitment to the sport, the fighters and most importantly, the fans. Real fight fans need an “all-boxing channel” fully focused on giving fans what they want.

ProBox TV will also address another critical issue that boxing fans have been forced to accept for far too long: overpriced content. At ProBox TV, we are doing away with the antiquated and expensive PPV model and offering our premium content for a nominal monthly price that is affordable for every fan in every country around the world.

What makes ProBox TV unique is our focus on supporting content, such as news, podcasts and talk shows, behind the scenes and in the gym content, ProBox TV originals documentaries.

ProBox TV Contenders Series

The Contenders Series is best characterized as good fighters in great fights. These contender level fighters will be evenly matched! That’s the most necessary component for fights to be entertaining and these fighters MUST bring the action. If the fighter is a runner, a holder, or a low-volume puncher, he is not welcome at ProBox TV. We are very confident that real boxing fans who crave evenly matched action fights will love this series.

ProBox TV Future Stars Series

The Future Stars Series is about following the journey of top amateur fighters who’ve recently turned pro. Will they fulfill their promise and potential, or will they crash and burn? Our founders have taken that journey and now they want to bring the fans along for the ride. Real boxing fans will genuinely appreciate the Future Stars series. Not only will you get the live fights but you’ll get behind-the-scenes docu-reality content as these young men go through the trials and tribulations of the journey.

ProBox TV Last Chance Tournament

Our Last Chance Tournament will start with 8 fighters from around the world. All were chosen based on a criteria of having had top amateur careers and had turned pro with expectations they would become a champion. Then they hit some bumps along the way, had some disappointing performances and boxing can be cruel if you take a couple of losses. All of these fighters are solid professional fighters and we thought it would be fun to give them a last chance, perhaps Roy, Antonio, Juan and Pauli can help them figure out where they went wrong and get them back on track. The winner of the tournament will get that last chance to achieve their dreams of becoming a champion.

Note they were also chosen along the lines of the contenders series, they are evenly matched and they are all action fighters. This should make for a great tournament shown on our live events.