This was looking like a classic heavyweight slobberknocker with a stout Puerto Rican and a towering hillbilly, then disaster struck for the favorite, and hometown hero, Santos.

Let me set it up. First of all, this was a benefit for a fallen firefighter and they had a drummer in the background playing in bursts while the fight went on. This was like something you would see in Japan. I loved it.

Martz towers at 6’ 7” and 251, and has no amateur background. He comes by way of the tough man circuit. Those guys are notoriously easy for stocky heavyweights to KO because of access to the jaw. Usually the short puncher digs to the body to drop the left hand, and then uncorks the overhand right, or he just crosses the overhand over a lazy return jab or low guard. Look at Tyson’s highlight reel from his early days. Santos is a good 6 foot and 230, a real stout heavyweight.

There was a problem though. Someone taught Martz how to box like a big man! He came in behind power jabs and tight but straight rights hand. He then clinched up and ripped loopy right hooks to the body to kill Santos’ hook by keeping the elbow home. Most importantly he kept his lead in a high shield, denying the chin. If you are that tall, and fighting against a fire plug guy, to hell with the hand span guard off the shoulder. Just walk in behind that shield and pump power down the middle. Make the short man move. Now his only ticket is to rip the left hook, and he has got to sail that thing over your right shoulder!

This is achieved with either a leap [see Ali Frazier 1] or with a high pivot. Santos tried to get pretty by stepping in onto the ball of his left foot and ripping the high pivot Chicago style hook over that shoulder and blew out an ankle ligament. Ouch. I have done this before in stick fighting and know how it feels. Normally the only safe way [as far as the ankle goes] to step into a high pivot is with the jab. If you have good ankles and are a lighter fighter, you might go with this hook. But Santos has bowling ball shoulders and all that top weight over-torqued his ankle and set him up for disaster, fine athlete that he is.

Santos heroically limped around and took a beating for 4 more rounds before it was stopped. His attempts to fight off the ropes were not savvy enough, and Martz had already imposed the high clinch and just shut that down. He has also not practiced fighting flat footed. This is the kind of thing old fighters learn rehabbing injuries as a backup plan.

Most onlookers gave Martz no credit, and even booed his Rick Flair ‘whew!’ when it was over. But he forced Santos to wreck his ankle. From what I could see of the corners, Martz’s man knew what was up and Santos’ people were trying to figure it. I hope Daniel ‘The Mountain’ Martz wrecks some more dreams in the boxing game and cashes in with a big title shot. I heard one of the commentator’s say that this big West Virginia boy fought out of Youngstown Ohio, home of former Middleweight titlist Doug Dewitt. I have seen some good things from Youngstown fighters in the Baltimore area—they come in and pull off upsets.

Keep it up Big Man.