Jade Bornea and Argentine champion Fernando Martinez face off. -SANMAN BOXING
MANILA, Philippines—Filipino challenger Jade Bornea vows to make the most of his first world title fight when he meets Argentine champion Fernando Martinez on Sunday (Manila time) at Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The two unbeaten fighters officially made weight Saturday for the IBF super flyweight title as part of a Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime tripleheader.
Bornea (18-0, 12KOs) hit the scales at exactly 115 pounds while Martinez (15-0, 8KOs) weighed 114.5 lbs.
“It’s been my dream to become a world champion since I started boxing. I worked so hard for it so I will never waste this opportunity to become a world champion,” Bornea said in Filipino during Friday’s final presser.
#MartinezBornea are weighed in and ready for their IBF World Title showdown to open the telecast on @ShowtimeBoxing. pic.twitter.com/iK7600SyGF
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) June 23, 2023
The 28-year-old Bornea hopes to join Marlon Tapales as the only current Filipino world champion in boxing.
Bornea is coming off back-to-back knockout victories. He stopped Mexico’s Ivan Meneses in his last fight back in August 2022.
Martinez, meanwhile, looks to add Bornea to his list of Filipino casualties after he beat Jerwin Ancajas twice last year.
He ended Ancajas’ long reign in February 2022 by unanimous decision to win the IBF crown and proved he’s no fluke by repeating over the Panabo, Davao del Norte native eight months later in their rematch via the same result.
“I come ready to fight for 12 rounds. I’m very thankful to my team for the way they had prepared me for this challenge. We’re gonna go all out until the final bell,” Martinez, 31, said through a translator.