Frank Martin to face Michel Rivera on December 17 in battle of unbeaten lightweights

Frank Martin and Michel Rivera will square off on December 17, Showtime Boxing officially announced Saturday night. Boxingscene’s Keith Idec was the first to break the story.

The 12-round world title elimination bout will headline a Showtime Boxing: Special Edition telecast and will likely take place at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the same site as Saturday’s clash between unbeaten and talented David Morrell and Aidos Yerbossynuly.

The Martin-Rivera fight is a compelling clash between lightweight contenders ranked in the top-10 by The Ring. Martin and Rivera are ranked at No. 8 and 9, respectively. 

Martin (16-0, 12 knockouts), who resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, last fought on July 9, dropping Jackson Marinez twice en route to a win in the 10th round. Earlier this year on January 1, the southpaw Martin stopped hard-hitting Romero Duno of the Philippines in the fourth round.

The 27-year-old has stopped six of his last seven opponents. Martin trains alongside Ring Magazine welterweight champion Errol Spence in the Dallas, Texas area. 

Rivera (24-0, 14 KOs), who is originally from the Dominican Republic and now resides in Miami, Florida, outboxed once-beaten Jerry Perez en route to a one-sided decision victory in his last bout on October 15. Less than seven months before the win over Perez, Rivera outboxed and defeated Joseph Adorno in a clash of unbeaten lightweights.

After displaying power and aggression over a two-year span, having stopped four of his previous five opponents, Rivera has displayed an improved skill-set in defeating his last three opponents by decision.

The 24-year-old Rivera is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz. 

Two more fights will likely be added to round out the Showtime Boxing telecast. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing