Lester Martínez
Lester Normandy Martínez Tut (born 17 October 1995) is a Guatemalan professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a light-welterweight silver medal at the 2012 Youth World Championships and a middleweight gold medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. Early years. Martínez was born on 17 October 1995 in the municipality of Melchor de Mencos in Petén Department, but grew up in San Benito. He began boxing at the age of twelve and won the schoolboy national championship in 2009. He soon moved to the capital, Guatemala City, to continue his development. He won his  first international competition in 2011, earning a gold medal at that year's Central American Championships in Managua. The following year, he repeated as Central American champion and won gold at the Panamerican School Games before taking home a silver at the Youth World Championships in Yerevan, becoming the first Guatemalan to ever medal at an AIBA world championship. He also lost to Jamel Herring in the 2012 American Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament. After achieving back-to-back first-place finishes at the Central American Games in 2013 and 2017, he became the first Guatemalan boxer in 68 years to  win gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games when he beat former World and Olympic champion Arlen López for the middleweight crown in 2018. Professional career. In January 2019 Martínez announced his decision to go pro by signing a deal with Latin ARMS Promotions and former referee Richard Steele as his manager. He trained with the legendary Ignacio Beristáin in Mexico, and his first opponent was announced to be 46-year-old Nicaraguan former world champion Ricardo Mayorga, who stated in an interview that he would retire if he lost to the 23-year-old. On 6 April 2019  he defeated Mayorga by technical knockout (TKO) in the main event of a card in Guatemala City, backing the ex-champ into the ropes with power shots until the referee waved it off in the final second of the second round. Two months later faced Daniel Montejo in Tijuana, scoring three knockdowns en route to a first-round knockout (KO) victory. After a quick 4–0 start, he went through a long period of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his return on 27 August 2020, stopping Mexican rival Abraham Hernández in the second round of their Roy Jones  Jr.-promoted fight in Guaymas.