Olascuaga Signs With Matchroom, Faces Olympian Martinez on Nov 14

Anthony Olascuaga has a new promotional home. Matchroom Boxing confirmed the signing of the WBO flyweight champion, and multiple reports have his debut set for November 14 on the Diego Pacheco vs Darius Fulghum card. The opponent: unbeaten Colombian Olympian Yuberjen Martinez.

At 12-1 with 9 knockouts, Olascuaga is one of the more quietly electric champions in the lower weight classes. "Princesa" has made five defenses of the WBO strap, most recently stopping Jukiya Iimura in the ninth round, and his 2023 arrival — a short-notice war with Kenshiro Teraji — turned him from unknown into must-watch almost overnight.

The Climb

That Teraji fight could have broken a lot of fighters. Instead, Olascuaga used it as a springboard. Five months later he came back with a knockout of Giemel Magramo, then took the WBO belt by stopping Riku Kano. Wins over "Bomba" Gonzalez and Hiroto Kyoguchi followed. The résumé is real; what's been missing is a mainstream platform, and a TNT slot under the Matchroom banner should finally fix that.

The Opponent Question

Martinez (7-0, 7 KO) brings serious amateur pedigree. The 34-year-old reached the 2016 Olympic final before losing to Hasanboy Dusmatov, then picked up two wins at Tokyo 2020 before a controversial quarterfinal exit against Ryomei Tanaka. His medal credentials are not in dispute.

His pro ledger is another matter. The first six wins came against limited domestic opposition in Colombia, and his seventh — which somehow carried a WBO trinket — saw him travel to Panama to beat journeyman Angel Bethancourt. A perfect record built on thin names rarely translates when the lights get brighter.

Still, pedigree counts for something, and seven wins in seven stoppages means Martinez carries pop. If he lands early, this gets interesting. If he doesn't, Olascuaga has shown he'll turn almost any fight into a shootout — and that's exactly the kind of debut Matchroom was buying.