Charles Martin, who Anthony Joshua beat to become world champion, returned to action with a stunning KO.
Martin has had a tough period in the heavyweight division recently, losing two of his last three fights against Luis Ortiz and Jared Anderson.
Footage was captured of Martin’s devastating win[/caption]
His defeat to Anderson was his last appearance in July 2023, and he has since faced a lengthy injury lay-off which derailed any plan to rebuild.
But he finally returned to the ring in a small-hall behind-closed-doors show, where he took on experienced Matthew McKinney.
Martin had tipped the scales at 251lbs and looked in decent shape, as he began the headline act at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City.
Despite the fight not being broadcast in full, fan footage has emerged of the outcome, which saw the former champion pick up the win.
Martin was clearly the aggressor from the opening bell and it didn’t take him long to close the show.
He unleashed a crushing barrage with a right hand first narrowly missing the head of the retreating McKinney.
The 38-year-old then pinned his rival with a crushing left hook which hit the target with a dull thud.
McKinney quickly crashed to the canvas, and was splattered against the corner ropes having been slightly held up.
It was an immediate knockdown with the referee quickly running over to start the count.
McKinney, despite lifting his head, was dazed and the official saw no choice but to wave off the contest.
Martin left McKinney tangled in the ropes in a bad way[/caption]
The KO came in the opening round, a big statement for Martin who will be looking to climb the world rankings.
In his prime, he reigned as a heavyweight world champion, although his time at the top was short lived.
He was crowned and held the belt for just 85 days, with Joshua completing his rise to world title level with a demolition job in London in 2016.
It was one of the worst reigns at the top in history given it was short-lived, and Martin appears well away from the pinnacle of the sport now.
Joshua currently faces a similarly challenging rebuild, having been brutally stopped by Daniel Dubois in their world title clash in September.
It was expected that he would seek immediate revenge with a sequel against Dubois in February, but that is now off the table as he is still set back with minor injuries.
And Frank Warren, Dubois’ promoter, believes it could now be out of the picture for the entirety of 2025.
“First of all, the fight Daniel had against AJ was his mandatory so he is allowed a period of time, which means he can fight in February and he’s allowed up until April or May [to make a voluntary defence],” Warren told talkSPORT.
“And then whoever the mandatory is, that is who it will be [for the fight after].
“It won’t be AJ because he can’t get himself into a mandatory position because they have called for the next two guys to fight each other (Kabayel and Bakole).
“So he’s out of the picture and he will be out of the picture for a while.”
