Leotis Martin

Template:Short description Template:Infobox boxer Leotis Martin (March 10, 1939 – November 20, 1995) was an American boxer, he was the inaugural NABF Heavyweight Champion. A fairly-skilled heavyweight and a good punch, he beat rated contenders Alvin Lewis, Thad Spencer, Karl Mildenberger, and Sonny Banks, but is perhaps best known for his knockout victory over former-Heavyweight Champion, Sonny Liston. Unfortunately, Martin was forced to retire shortly after the Liston win due to a detached retina. The Ring Magazine listed Martin 68th on its list of the "100-Greatest-Punchers of all Time".

Amateur career

Martin was the 1960 Chicago and Intercity Golden Gloves 160-pound champion and the 1961 160-pound Intercity Golden Gloves Champion (alternate). He also was the United States National AAU 165-pound champion in 1960 and 1961.

Professional career

From February 1964, when Martin fought on the Liston-Clay world heavyweight championship fight undercard, to June 1967, Martin fought 15 times without suffering a defeat. This winning streak qualified him for the WBA heavyweight elimination championship series, after the organization had stripped Muhammad Ali of its world heavyweight crown when he refused induction into the United States Army. On May 10, 1965, he faced Sonny Banks, then one of only two fighters to have knocked Muhammad Ali down for a count. Martin scored a ninth-round knockout over Banks. Martin's jubilation was short lived. Banks never recovered from the blows he received during the fight and died from his injuries.

Although Martin was selected for the WBA title elimination tournament, he was matched, in his first fight, against the ultimate tournament winner Jimmy Ellis. The two fought in the Houston Astrodome on August 5, 1967. Ellis, as was his style at the time, came out sharp, trying to score an early knockout with his sneaky-fast and dangerous right hand. Although unable to knock Martin out, Ellis inflicted a nasty cut on the inside of Martin's mouth, which ultimately caused the fight to be stopped in the ninth round. Scoring was around even at that point. Many had predicted Martin might win the elimination series. Martin had campaigned for a contest with fellow Philadelphian Joe Frazier, but it never happened, mainly due to Martin's loss to Bonavena, who got the Frazier match instead.

Martin rebounded from the Ellis defeat by traveling to Germany to knock out German and European heavyweight champion Karl Mildenberger in seven rounds. Martin appeared to be back in contention for a title shot when he dropped a decision to California heavyweight Henry Clark (record 14-3-2). He then came back from that defeat to upset and knock out Thad Spencer in nine rounds. His title quest, however, was again derailed when Martin travelled to Argentina to meet Oscar Bonavena in his home town of Buenos Aires, where he lost by decision. Bonavena went on to fight Frazier for the world title.

After the Bonavena loss, Martin put together a four-fight win streak, including two wins over Detroit hometown favorite Al "Blue" Lewis. These fine efforts landed him a match with veteran former champion Sonny Liston on December 6, 1969. Liston had resumed boxing after his two stunning losses to Muhammad Ali, and had run off a winning streak of 14 fights with 13 knockouts. Although slowed by age, Liston was still a feared heavyweight.

Martin, who formerly had been Liston's sparring partner, devised a simple fight plan. Rather than attempting to slug with the bigger and heavier Liston, Martin stayed away from him, boxing and waiting for the older man to tire. Despite a close call in the fourth round when Liston caught him with a booming left hook that knocked Martin down, Martin seemed to get stronger with every passing round while Liston weakened. Finally, in the ninth round, Martin hit Liston with a powerful combination that knocked the former champion out. This victory was short-lived, however: Martin had suffered a detached retina during the fight, and was forced to retire before he could capitalize on the biggest win of his career.

After boxing

For the next 26 years, Martin lived a quiet life in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Early in 1995, he retired from Budd & Co. after 31 years as a machinist. In November that year, Martin had a stroke brought on by hypertension and complications from diabetes, and died en route to a local hospital, aged 56.

Martin's death received little coverage in the boxing media.

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
36	Template:Yes2Win	31–5	Template:Flagicon Sonny Liston	KO	9 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	30–5	Template:Flagicon Roger Russell	UD	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	29–5	Template:Flagicon Wendell Newton	KO	7 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	28–5	Template:Flagicon Alvin Lewis	SD	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	27–5	Template:Flagicon Alvin Lewis	TKO	9 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
31	Template:No2Loss	26–5	Template:Flagicon Oscar Bonavena	UD	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	26–4	Template:Flagicon Thad Spencer	TKO	9 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
29	Template:No2Loss	25–4	Template:Flagicon Henry Clark	MD	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	25–3	Template:Flagicon Karl Mildenberger	KO	7 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
27	Template:No2Loss	24–3	Template:Flagicon Roger Russell	SD	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
26	Template:No2Loss	24–2	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Ellis	TKO	9 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	24–1	Template:Flagicon Billy Daniels	PTS	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	23–1	Template:Flagicon Lee Carr	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	22–1	Template:Flagicon Ulric Regis	TKO	5 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	21–1	Template:Flagicon Remington Dyanti	TKO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	20–1	Template:Flagicon Mariano Echevarria	RTD	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	19–1	Template:Flagicon Roberto Davila	PTS	10	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	18–1	Template:Flagicon Amos Johnson	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	17–1	Template:Flagicon Von Clay	PTS	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	16–1	Template:Flagicon Curtis Bruce	TKO	6 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	15–1	Template:Flagicon Sonny Banks	KO	9 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	14–1	Template:Flagicon Don Warner	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	13–1	Template:Flagicon Earl Battles	KO	3 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	12–1	Template:Flagicon Dave Bailey	PTS	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	11–1	Template:Flagicon Dave Russell	PTS	8	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	10–1	Template:Flagicon Allan Harmon	PTS	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
10	Template:No2Loss	9–1	Template:Flagicon Floyd McCoy	KO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Template:Flagicon Billy Johnson	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Template:Flagicon Johnny Alford	PTS	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Template:Flagicon Frank Davis	TKO	2 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Template:Flagicon Monte Monnie McCoy	TKO	4 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Template:Flagicon Buddy Moore	PTS	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Template:Flagicon Joe Washington	PTS	6	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	German Hernandez	KO	1 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Template:Flagicon Bob Rutherford	KO	4 Template:Small	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Template:Flagicon Bobby Warthem	SD	4	Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Template:Small

External links

• Official Instagram Account:
• https://instagram.com/leotismartinofficial?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Template:Boxrec

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