At the age of 29, Martin is an eight-year pro. He won the WBA super flyweight world title in December, 2004, and made three successful title defenses before losing the title in his last fight against Nobuo Nashiro in Japan in July.

Martin told TheSweetScience.com, “ Nashiro was tough, but that wasn't the real Martin Castillo in the ring that night. The loss was a fluke and I want a rematch to prove that luck played a big role for Nashiro. It will be different next time. You're going to see the Martin Castillo that you saw before. Someone who boxes pretty. Someone who punches and gets out of the way. That's what real boxing is about. I didn't stick to that game plan. I had two rounds to go. I know I would've pulled it off if the cut wasn't so bad.”

In January, Martin retained the title with a 12-round split decision win in an exciting rematch with former champion Alexander “El Explosivo” Munoz , from whom Martin had won the title in December, 2004. After the fight, HBO analyst Jim Lampley said, “Both guys distinguish themselves in a terrific fight.”

Doug Fischer of Maxboxing.com wrote, “Another fight-of-the-year candidate. Martin Castillo…had to rally in the final two rounds of a bloody, gruelling bout… It was a dramatic rematch of their first fight… This time around it was a nip-and-tuck battle from the first round through to the 12 th …”

Last June 26, Martin won a 12 round unanimous decision against Hideyasu Ishihara in Nagoya , Japan .

Before the fight, Doug Fischer wrote, “Make no mistake, Castillo is one of the fight game's better world title holders. In terms of all-around boxing skill and versatility, Castillo is every bit the complete fighter that Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are.”

After Martin's dominant 12-round decision win March 19, 2005, against former WBA flyweight world champion Eric Morel , HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant commented, “An outstanding fight for Castillo. He defended his title strongly.”

Martin previously won the WBA interim world title on May 16, 2004 - Alexander Munoz had been scheduled to defend the title against Hideyasu Ishihara in Japan , but withdrew with an injury and Martin replaced him in the fight.

Martin is experienced against top opposition, and has several impressive wins to his credit. He has fought former world champions Alexander Munoz twice (W12, W12), Eric Morel (W12), and Felix Machado (TL6), as well as a number of contenders.

Regarding his nickname, he said, “I got that nickname in Mexico . They called me ‘The Rooster' because that's my style.”

KEY FIGHTS: - 2006 – LOST WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE - in his last fight on 7-22-06 in Osaka, JAP, he was TKO'd against Nobuo Nashiro (7-0): it was a good, close fight and both were effective at times; Martin started fast – he boxed and counterpunched effectively, and staggered Nashiro late in the 1 st round; but Nashiro constantly pressed forward, cut Martin badly in two places over his left eye in the 2 nd , and rallied in the middle rounds; Martin's cuts bled heavily throughout the fight and worsened as the rounds progressed; Martin came on strongly in the late rounds – he swept the 8 th and 9 th on all three scorecards - but the referee stopped the fight on the injury at 1:02 of the 10 th round; after nine rounds, the fight was scored 87-85 Castillo, 87-85 Nashiro, 86-86; after the fight, Martin said, “I don't complain that the referee stopped the fight, because I was bleeding. Nashiro is a brave fighter. He deserves the victory.”...

3 RD WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 1-21-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round split decision in the rematch against former WBA super flyweight world champion Alexander Munoz (28-1): the bout was the co-featured attraction with the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao II main event at the Thomas & Mack Center, which drew an announced crowd of 14,618; it was a very close fight, and the momentum shifted back and forth; Munoz scored a knockdown in the 1 st round, but Martin came back strongly and won rounds two through five on two scorecards; Martin was cut over his right by a clash of heads in the 5 th , and under his left eye by another headclash in the 6 th ; Munoz took the 6 th on all three cards, then staggered Martin in the 8 th to sweep that round, as well, and after eight rounds, the fight was scored 77-74, 76-75 Munoz, 76-75 Castillo; but Martin rallied in the late rounds - he swept the last four rounds on two scorecards, and two of the last four on the other; Munoz' left eye was swollen shut by the 9 th round, and his nose and mouth were bloodied in the last two rounds; scored of 116-111, 115-112 Castillo, 115-112 Munoz;

2005 - 2 ND WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 6-26-05 in Nagoya, JAP, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against southpaw Hideyasu Ishihara (16-3-1): Ishihara fought very aggressively, but Martin frustrated him with lateral movement, counterpunched effectively, and consistently outworked him; Hideyasu rallied to win the 6 th and 7 th rounds on all three scorecards - Martin was also penalized one point in the 6 th round for low blows, and was cut over his left eye in the 7 th , but came on strong in the late rounds and finished the fight strongly; Martin won the last five rounds on one scorecard, and four of the last five on the other two, and won by scores of 116-111, 116-111, 116-112; after the fight, Martin said, “Ishihara was brave, but I gave him a lesson and kept piling up points to prove which the champ is. I was in pretty good condition. In the late rounds, I was able to take control and threw three or four punches for every punch he had.”…

1 ST WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 3-19-05 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBA flyweight world champion Eric Morel (35-1): Martin dominated the entire fight; he consistently pressured Morel, kept a busier pace, and landed the harder punches; Martin was cut over the left eye in the 5 th round by a punch, and over the right eye in the 10 th round by a clash of heads; scored 119-109 on all three scorecards…

2004 - WON WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE - on 12-3-04 in Laredo, TX, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated defending champion Alexander Munoz (25-0): Munoz was making his fourth defense of the title, but Martin dominated the fight; he boxed effectively in the early rounds, and wore down Munoz as the fight progressed - Martin scored a knockdown in the 4 th round, bloodied Munoz' mouth in the 7 th , and scored another knockdown in the 8 th ; Martin staggered Munoz in the 12 th , and won by scores of 117-109, 117-109, 116-110; after the fight, Martin said, “I think I fought a very intelligent fight. He kept hitting me with his head. But I knew after the first round when I hit him that he wasn't going to be able to take much.”…

WON INTERIM WBA S-FL WORLD TITLE - on 5-16-04 in Gifu, JAP, he TKO'd former Oriental and Pacific super flyweight champion Hideyasu Ishihara (15-2-1): it was an exciting fight, and a spectacular one-punch, come-from-behind TKO; the early rounds were close, and Martin was cut over the right eye in the 4 th ; Ishihara rallied from the 5 th round through the 10 th , and Martin appeared to tire; Ishihara was on the attack in the 11 th when Martin scored a devastating knockdown with a right hand - Ishihara struggled to get up, but fell back to the canvas two times and the referee stopped the fight in mid-count at 2:41; Ishihara remained on the canvas for several minutes before he recovered; after 10 rounds, the fight was scored 97-93, 96-93 Ishihara, 97-93 Castillo; looking back, Martin said, “I wasn't in the best shape I could've been. I took the fight on short notice. It wasn't the best Martin Castillo in the ring that night.”…

WBA S-FL ELIMINATOR FOR MANDATORY CHALLENGER - on 1-23-04 in Kansas City, MO, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against southpaw Roger Galicia (23-2-1): Martin dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Galicia, landed the harder punches, and switched effectively to the lefthanded stance; Martin was cut on the bridge of the nose and by his right eye in the 8 th round; scored 120-108, 120-108, 119-109; after the fight, Martin said, “I injured my left hand in the third round, and that's why I switched to southpaw later on. I landed all my left hands on his head. I have no idea how he was able to take my punches. I am just ready to prepare myself for the world title fight. I hope Munoz comes prepared, because it will be a hard fight.”…

2003 - on 8-22-03 in Odessa , TX , he TKO'd Alberto Ontiveros (18-6-5): Martin was cut over the right eye in the 1 st round by a clash of heads, but dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown in the 4 th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:24; after the fight, Martin said, “I do not need any more tests. I am ready for any of the champions at 115. I am now used to getting cuts, but I am just doing my job.”…

On 2-22-03 in Anaheim, CA, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Valerio Sanchez (15-11-2): Sanchez gave a good effort, but Martin dominated the fight; he cut Sanchez over the right eye, bloodied his nose, and won by scores of 80-72 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Martin said, “I was surprised at how he would take those punches. I hurt my left hand during the fight, but there was no problem and we continued to work. He threw good punches and he connected, but I wasn't hurt.”…

2002 – on 11-23-02 in Anaheim he TKO'd Keyri Wong (9-3): it was a good fight, but Martin had the edge in most of the rounds; Martin was cut over the left eye in the 7 th round, but came back and staggered Wong early in the 8 th , then scored a knockdown later in the round; Wong got up and finished the round, but did not answer the bell for the 9 th ; after the fight, Martin said, “ I caught him with a right hand and I dropped him with a bodyshot. I knew him well, so I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I thought he was going to go down with the first barrage. I thought the fight was going to be stopped after I knocked him down, because he looked pretty bad and hurt.”…
IBF JB WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE - on 3-30-02 in Reading, PA, he lost a technical decision against defending champion Felix Machado (21-3-1): Martin started fast and pressed forward, but both fighters were cut by an accidental clash of heads in the 5 th round - Martin high on the scalp, Machado over the right eye; the referee stopped the fight after the 6 th and went to the scorecards; most observers thought that Martin deserved to win, but all three judges scored 58-56 for Machado; after the fight, Martin said, “I feel a little bad about the decision. I thought his cut was worse than mine. I didn't feel anything at all. I was going to his body and his head came on top of mine.”…

2001 – on 11-18-01 in San Jacinto, CA, he knocked out former NABO jr. bantamweight champion Pedro Morquecho (27-6): the fight was originally scheduled to be for the USBA and NABO jr. bantamweight titles, but Morquecho, a southpaw, was over the weight limit; Martin scored a devastating knockdown with a left uppercut in the 2 nd round, and he was counted out at 3:07; after the fight, Martin said, “ He hurt me with his head three times. But I caught him with a left hook and he went down.”; Martin was presented a trophy for local boxing achievement by Armando Muniz of the World Boxing Hall of Fame during the fight card…

WON USBA, NABO JB TITLES - on 7-15-01 in San Jacinto he won a technical decision against former Mexican bantamweight champion Ricardo Vargas (28-8-3): Vargas fought very aggressively; Martin boxed effectively, but was cut two times by accidental head clashes - over and under the left eye - as Vargas charged forward; the referee stopped the fight on the cuts in the 6 th round and went to the scorecards; Martin led by scores of 59-55, 58-56, 58-56; after the fight, Martin said, “ I tried my best to knock him out, but he was strong and kept coming in with his head.”; Vargas went on to win the NABF bantamweight title…
On 5-27-01 in Phoenix , AZ , he TKO'd former Panamanian champion and world title challenger Evangelio Perez (25-7-1): Martin scored a devastating knockdown with a left hook in the 3 rd round, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 1:42…

On 3-25-01 in Phoenix he knocked out former IBF flyweight world champion Francisco Tejedor (45-8): Martin scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 1 st round, and Tejedor was counted out at 1:22…

On 1-28-01 in Phoenix he TKO'd previously undefeated Omar Adorno (12-0): Adorno was a 1996 Olympic representative for Puerto Rico and world-ranked; but Martin dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown in the 2 nd round, staggered Adorno in the 7 th , and Adorno did not answer the bell for the 8 th round…

2000 – on 10-29-00 in Phoenix he won a 10 round decision against former Mexican champion Gabriel Munoz (25-5-1): Martin was cut over the eye by an accidental clash of heads in the 2 nd round, but knocked down Munoz in the 5 th ; after the fight, Martin said, “ It was tough because of the cuts, but I could not quit. Too much heart.”…

On 9-3-00 in Yerington , NV , he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Oscar Andrade (24-17-1): Martin dominated the fight, and won by scores of 99-91, 98-92, 99-93; after the fight, he said, “I still have a lot of things to learn. I feel I could've done better, but I did what I could. He's very tough and could take a good punch. I'm going to be opening the doors. When the opportunity is there, I'll be ready for it.”; Andrade went on to win the NABF super flyweight title…

1999 - on 5-15-99 in El Paso , TX , he won a 4 round split decision against Mexican prospect prospect Alejandro Moreno (7-1-1)…

He debuted at the age of 21 on 6-27-98…

-Courtesy of Top Rank-