Puerto Rico’s Martinez, who twice had won 130-pound titles, got another shot at a belt and made the most of it when he challenged Mexico’s Orlando Salido in April 2015 in Puerto Rico. They turned in an explosive and exciting fight, but Martinez took care of business, dropping Salido twice and winning a competitive decision. They met in a rematch in September and put on another very good fight as Martinez retained the belt in a draw that most had Salido winning. A deal for a third fight went down the tubes so Martinez instead faced featherweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko, who moved up in weight and knocked Martinez out in spectacular fashion in the fifth round on June 11.Next: TBA
10. Jason Sosa (20-2-4)
Although Sosa was awarded a draw against former featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters in December 2015, virtually everybody had Sosa losing a one-sided fight. However, he got the draw, and that set him up for a shot at secondary titleholder Javier Fortuna on June 24 in Beijing. Sosa, trailing on all three scorecards, rallied for a big upset as he drilled Fortuna in the 11th round. Sosa made his first defense on Nov. 12, traveling to Monte Carlo and outpointing England’s Stephen Smith in a fantastic slugfest. Sosa then gave up his belt to facilitate a fight nobody else seemed to want against outstanding titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko on April 8. However, Sosa, as most predicted, was completely outclassed in a ninth-round knockout loss.
Next: TBA