Top Rank announced that Martin versus Zaina (18-3-1, 12 KOs) will support the Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster super featherweight unification card on DAZN. Martin headlined a pay-per-view against Gervonta Davis in June 2024.
Davis knocked him out in the eighth round, leaving Martin sprawled on the canvas after a sharp left hand. After sitting out for nearly 18 months, Martin returned by stopping 39-year-old Rances Barthelemy. That victory looked like the first stage of a sensible rebuild. The Albright fight was supposed to move Martin forward, but it exposed how much work remains.
Albright repeatedly beat Martin to the punch, making him look ordinary for long stretches. The judges rescued Martin from a second professional defeat, but Top Rank responded as though he lost. Zaina’s record, but the numbers give him more shine than his opposition does. He dropped decisions to Rohan Polanco, Delante “Tiger” Johnson, and Mohamed Mimoune.
His July victory came against Alexis Torres, who carried a 13-17-2 record into the ring. Zaina is tall, durable, and has never been stopped, so Martin may have to work the full 10 rounds. Still, nobody should confuse this with a meaningful test between leading light welterweights. Zaina provides resistance without presenting the danger attached to an Albright rematch. Martin is 31. He is too old and experienced to be handled like a damaged prospect requiring another confidence builder.
Going from Tank Davis in a pay-per-view main event to Zaina several slots down an undercard is a hard fall, and a comfortable victory will not erase what happened against Albright.
