Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin’s professional boxing career is back on the rails after 11 months on standby because of former promoter 50 Cent’s bankruptcy issues.
The 23-year-old Chattanooga native and Central High School graduate went to 14-0 as a pro lightweight with his ninth knockout. That was on April 23 when he fought for his brother that was killed here last year on a card headed by Gennady Golovkin in the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Martin will be in a group of fights headed by another well-known champion this Saturday, but the site will be much closer: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., where Deontay Wilder from Tuscaloosa will be defending his WBC heavyweight championship against Chris Arreola in the main bout. The packed slate of boxing is set to start at 4 p.m. CDT.
Wilder, who is well-known to many Chattanoogans, is 36-0 with 35 knockouts; Arreola is 36-4-1 with 31 KOs.
Martin, who fights out of Cleveland, Ohio, will be facing 32-year-old Ghana native Samuel Amoako, who lives now in Silver Spring, Md. Amoako is 21-11 and has lost his last seven fights – including six in 2016, all by decision as opposed to knockout. But those six, including three in 28 days in late January and February, were against boxers with a combined 106-10 record.