Julio Cesar Martinez still craves the big fights in and around his fight weight division, though his next assignment is one for which he has been long prepared.

The reigning WBC flyweight titlist is finally days away from his oft-postponed mandatory title defense versus Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo. The bout is part of a loaded November 19 DAZN show from SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“We have been ready for a long time for this fight, I just hope he is ready for us as well,” Martinez told BoxingScene.com. “This is the fight we had in mind when he looked to return to the ring. I am confident it will be a great and memorable war.

“I still want to be undisputed champion in the flyweight division. I have to win fights like this first in order to achieve that goal. I’m ready to prove that I’m the man to beat at flyweight.”

Martinez (18-1, 14KOs; 1NC) has already reached that status, even if not in an official capacity. The squat flyweight from Mexico City is unbeaten in 19 straight starts since losing his pro debut, which he avenged just four fights later. Martinez has since blazed a path of destruction beginning with a fifth-round knockout of unbeaten Andrew Selby in March 2019 to enter the title picture.

The win led to his first title shot, with Martinez initially claiming the WBC belt in a third-round knockout of Charlie Edwards, though overturned when the defending champion was determined to be down on the canvas upon receiving the knockout blow. Edwards soon thereafter vacated the title which Martinez claimed in a ninth-round knockout of former titlist Cristofer Rosales in December 2019.

A twelve-round decision of Jay Harris just two months later continued Martinez’s brilliant run since the pandemic, with illness and injury since getting in the way. Both were contributing factors in twice canceling planned title defenses versus Arroyo (21-4, 16KOs), including his bailing from the fight this past February 27 on the undercard of stablemate Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Miami Gardens. Martinez attempted to conceal a hand injury, though to the point where he was deemed unfit to fight just two days before their scheduled co-feature battle.

Arroyo—a 2008 Olympian for Puerto Rico—remained on the show, stopping late replacement Abraham ‘Choko’ Rodriguez in the fifth round of their interim title fight to preserve his shot at the real crown.

Martinez was granted a stay-busy fight, which came in the form of a sixth-round stoppage of countryman Joel Cordova this past June in Guadalajara. At the time, the intention was to reschedule the bout with Arroyo on the undercard of Alvarez’s targeted undisputed super middleweight championship clash with Caleb Plant in September. The date fell through, with Alvarez agreeing to a November 6 date on Showtime Pay-Per-View. Martinez was tabbed by Canelo Promotions and partner Matchroom Boxing to remain on DAZN, where there exists loftier targets in lineal junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada and former four-division champ Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.

“They are both on my radar,” notes Martinez. “First, we have to take care of business with Arroyo. This fight has been asked for and we plan to deliver for the fans.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox