Lane out, Martinez in for Elegele on Friday

Lane out, Aaron Martinez in for Joseph Elegele this Friday?

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

July 18, 2011

Sometimes in boxing a door closes but a window opens.

That is the case for unbeaten young Joseph Elegele, who was slated to meet once-beaten Lanard Lane this Friday in the co-feature as televised by ESPN Friday Night Fights. Elegele-Lane promised to be an intriguing battle between two young prospects.

Lane's lone loss came against capable junior middleweight Mike Dallas, Jr. on ShoBox but had not fought since, making it over a year of inactivity. He looked to serve as a solid but passable test for Elegele who was being showcased on the Gary Shaw promoted card headlined by Anthony Dirrell against Kevin Engel.

No word on what was the cause for Lane pulling out of the scheduled ten-rounder, but it left Elegele without an opponent. When this happens for a televised card it could mean the fighter loses his TV spot if they can't find a competent enough opponent to be worthy of the air time.

Luckily for Elegele, or unluckily if you look at it another way, he will be getting a formidable foe on late notice as once-beaten Aaron Martinez of East Los Angeles steps in as the hometown guy against Elegele. Martinez resides just an hour and a half away from the Cabazon desert in which the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa rests. Elegele is from the other side of the United States, hailing from Winter Haven, Florida.

Despite just fifteen fights, Martinez has been a pro since 2004 and is still relatively young at 29. He lacks a big punch but has gone rounds against better than garbage opposition and should give Elegele rounds if he is in any kind of shape.

The Elegele-Martinez fight stands to remain as the co-feature despite the late change of opponent, which the undefeated fighter will benefit from greatly. It remains a serviceable televised fight and ESPN is lucky to see only a slight drop off in opponent given the late substitution.

ESPN Friday Night Fights this Friday comes from the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa on Friday, July 22^nd and will be televised nationally at 6 PM Pacific Time on ESPN2. The card is headlined by Anthony Dirrell [22-0, 19 KOs] against Kevin Engel [18-4, 15 KOs] and is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions. Doors open at 4:30 PM with the first bout beginning at 5:30 PM. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster and are available at $30 and $50.