WBC flyweight world titlist Julio Cesar Martinez will defend his belt against Francisco Rodriguez Jr. on the Canelo Alvarez-Callum Smith undercard on Dec. 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The matchup was announced Wednesday.
Martinez (17-1, 13 KOs) won the title in a ninth-round TKO victory over Cristofer Rosales in December 2019. He defended the belt twice this year, a unanimous decision victory against Jay Harris in February and a second-round TKO of Moises Calleros in October.
Martinez, 25, who lost his pro debut in 2015, has gone 17-0 with one no-contest since then. He’s trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Alvarez.
Rodriguez Jr. (33-4-1, 24 KOs) is a former strawweight world titlist. After losing back-to-back decisions against Donnie Nietes and Moises Fuentes in 2015, Rodriguez, 27, has won 14 straight bouts, 12 by stoppage.
Also on the undercard, super middleweight blue-chip prospect Diego Pacheco (10-0, 8 KOs) will face Rodolfo Gomez Jr. (14-4-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round battle.
