04/09/2026
LUCA PLANTIĆ FOUGHT LIKE A WARRIOR! 🥊🔥
On Saturday night showed exactly what kind of fighter he is. He stood his ground, fought with heart, courage and determination, and proved that he absolutely belongs at this level.
Lester Martinez took over more of the action as the fight progressed, especially in the later rounds, and in our opinion he was ahead at that point. We have no problem admitting that. He is a strong fighter and deserves respect.
But this was still a competitive, exciting fight at a very high level and Luca was still very much IN THE FIGHT.
Then came the moment we have to talk about.
Luca was counted after an unusual punch and his glove/body touched the canvas. We can live with the count. What I cannot agree with is what happened afterwards.
The referee stopped the fight with Luca standing on his feet. He was not seriously hurt, he was not disoriented, and he was not in a condition where he could no longer defend himself.
In our home corner, this fight would NEVER have been stopped at that moment.
Of course, we can always talk about ‚fighter safety‘ and the health of every boxer must always come first. But this is also professional boxing at world championship level. Fighters deserve the opportunity to fight their way out of difficult moments.
Boxing history has given us countless fights where a fighter was behind, under pressure or hurt and still came back in the championship rounds to change everything.
That opportunity was taken away from Luca.
This is not an excuse and it takes absolutely nothing away from Lester Martinez. In our opinion, Martinez was leading the fight at the time of the stoppage. Congratulations to him and his team, and I sincerely wish him continued success.
But Luca deserved the chance to finish this fight on his own terms.
I am proud of you, Luca. You fought like a warrior and showed everyone that you belong on this stage.
Maybe one day these two warriors will meet again. 🥊🌍
