Spanish super-lightweight fighter Sandor Martin is looking to turn his win over Mikey Garcia into world titles, and much bigger fights.
Garcia was a surprise loser when the pair met last month, but with Martin the fresher and, at 28, the younger man, he had the edge throughout and was a convincing winner.
BoxingScene.com reported that Martin is keen to kick on and win titles.
Asked what he planned next, he said: "To be world champion.
"It has been non-stop since my reception when I arrived in Spain. Many interviews and people do not stop congratulating me on the street. In my neighborhood, where I grew up, there is a lot of joy. The repercussion at the national level has been of biblical dimensions. Everyone was already very good to me, but now this is beyond the limits.
“Since I arrived in Spain, cars have honked at me on the street and stopped to greet me. In the parking lots, they see me go in somewhere and wait for me to come out to take pictures. It was a very resounding victory and it shows on a social level.”
While Martin won decisively on points, he revealed he was only certain of victory when the judges confirmed the win.
"I knew that I had done the job that I had to do, but I am an athlete and I am aware of the type of fight it was. My question was whether the judges were going to value my work. I felt like a winner, but it depended on the judges and it turned out well," he said.
"One of my goals is to become a world champion. Even before the fight I said that if I win, then what would annoy me the most would be not to become a world champion, because I was facing a world champion in four different divisions. At this time Mikey was not a champion due to the circumstances of his career, but he is a world-class boxer. Beating him is like winning a world title and that's how I felt it. The joy was tremendous and now what I have left is to continue working to be world champion.
"I was prepared to counter him in all sorts of circumstances. He is a very complete and solid boxer, but I know how to adapt. I have many resources and I knew that I was going to be superior in all facets. Anyone who has followed my career knows that I am a very mobile boxer, with a world-class defense and very few boxers have that type of defensive style that I propose in the ring. When I'm on the ropes I feel very comfortable. We knew that he was very offensive and was going to go on the attack, but he was missing shots thanks to all of this defensive work we did. We were making him desperate, he was becoming more obsessed and we were sapping his morale.”
Martin name-checked some of the best in the division as potential opponents.
"I want to face the best, like Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis, [Jose] Zepeda, [Jose] Pedraza ... There are very good names and I can also make very good fights with those who move up from 135 pounds. We have to wait to see what happens, but 2022 has to be a great year," he explained.