{"id":615860,"date":"2026-04-18T21:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/615860\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T21:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T21:56:10","slug":"lester-martinez-honored-with-presidential-order-after-wbc-interim-title-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/615860\/","title":{"rendered":"Lester Mart\u00ednez honored with Presidential Order after WBC interim title win"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past Thursday, April 16, Lester Mart\u00ednez continued to earn recognition for carrying Guatemalan pride into boxing\u2019s bigger conversations. <\/p>\n

Just weeks after I wrote about the framing of his title win in my zine<\/a>, questioning the narrative of \u201cfirsts\u201d and what it really means to represent Guatemala on the global stage, Mart\u00ednez stood inside the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura and received the country\u2019s highest civil honor. The Orden Presidencial, awarded by Bernardo Ar\u00e9valo, reflected a country catching up to what he\u2019s already been doing in the ring.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo: Gobierno de la Rep\u00fablica de Guatemala (Facebook)<\/p>\n

\u201cLester subi\u00f3 al ring invicto y baj\u00f3 como campe\u00f3n del mundo,\u201d Ar\u00e9valo said during the ceremony. \u201cEn nombre del pueblo de Guatemala, te entregamos la medalla presidencial\u2026 sabemos que tu vida y esfuerzo continuar\u00e1 dando muchas alegr\u00edas.\u201d
\u201cLester stepped into the ring undefeated and walked out as a world champion. On behalf of the people of Guatemala, we present you with the Presidential Medal\u2026 we know your life and effort will continue to bring great joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo: Gobierno de la Rep\u00fablica de Guatemala (Facebook)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s well-deserved. On March 21 in San Bernardino, California, Mart\u00ednez didn\u2019t leave room for interpretation. Scores of 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109 over Immanuwel Aleem told a clear story. No controversy, like his bout against Christian Mbilli, just control across 12 rounds to secure the interim WBC super middleweight title. <\/p>\n

Those are the performances that built this moment, even if they happened far from home.<\/p>\n

Mart\u00ednez, now 20-0-1 with 16 knockouts, acknowledged the recognition but stayed locked in on what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoy podemos decir con todo orgullo\u2026 que Guatemala tiene campe\u00f3n mundial interino y pronto tendr\u00e1 campe\u00f3n mundial absoluto en las 168 libras,\u201d he said. \u201cEste bendito t\u00edtulo nos da la oportunidad para seguir luchando por muchas cosas m\u00e1s.\u201d
\u201cToday we can proudly say\u2026 that Guatemala has an interim world champion, and soon it will have a full world champion at 168 pounds. This blessed title gives us the opportunity to keep fighting for many more things.\u201d<\/p>\n

What comes next carries its own weight. The WBC has already mandated two defenses of his interim title, a route that can either sharpen his claim or slow his momentum depending on how it plays out. It\u2019s familiar territory in a division where timing and politics often move as loudly as performances.<\/p>\n

Still, Mart\u00ednez leans into it with the same mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoy a ser campe\u00f3n mundial\u2026 las palabras tienen poder,\u201d he said. \u201cQue su fe sea m\u00e1s grande que sus miedos.\u201d
\u201cI am going to be a world champion\u2026 words have power. Let your faith be greater than your fears.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief has been consistent since he turned pro in 2019. Active, disciplined, and building a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that keeps demanding more, whether the opportunities line up cleanly or not.<\/p>\n

And while the spotlight is finally widening, those closest to him see the impact going beyond one fighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel happy for the love he\u2019s getting from the Guatemalan people, and he\u2019s opening doors for younger athletes,\u201d his trainer, Esau Diegez, told Boxing Social. \u201cHopefully the people sponsoring and recognizing him can also reciprocate to the younger boxers because they need help too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Esau Diegez, who began working alongside\u00a0Terence Crawford\u00a0at just 14, continues to build fighters like\u00a0Lester Mart\u00ednez alongside\u00a0Brian \u201cBomac\u201d McIntyre\u00a0and\u00a0Jacqui \u201cRed\u201d Spikes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the part that lingers. The recognition matters, but what it builds after matters more. Mart\u00ednez has already done his part forcing Guatemala into the conversation. Whether that moment turns into something bigger for the next wave is what comes next. <\/p>\n

With the WBC\u2019s inconsistency regarding their belts and mandatories and Canelo still in the mix, Martinez\u2019s journey to a \u201creal\u201d belt might depend more on politics than his accomplishments. Regardless, his country is now more behind him than ever before, and carrying that into the ring is a victory in itself.<\/p>\n

Read Vol. 3, Issue 8 of What I Miss?<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This past Thursday, April 16, Lester Mart\u00ednez continued to earn recognition for carrying Guatemalan pride into boxing\u2019s bigger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,94326,85,35276],"class_list":{"0":"post-615860","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-lester-martinez","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-wbc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}