Troy Isley: “I’m ready to step up and face the champions now”

Middleweight Troy Isley, who scored victory over amateur rival Javier Martinez on Friday, now has his sights set on the titleholders, particularly Janibek Alimkhanuly, the unified middleweight champion. Isley set a goal of “two or three” more fights to set up a potential fight with Alimkhanuly.

Isley earned a 10-round unanimous decision over Martinez at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Friday night.

The 25-year-old Isley (13-0, 5 KOs) now occupies a prominent position in the middleweight division – widely considered one of its most prestigious. With victories over undefeated fighters Martinez and Vladimir Hernandez, Isley stands out among his peers and emerges as a promising title contender following his participation as a 2020 U.S. Olympian.

“Javier is a tall, lanky southpaw, similar to Janibek,” Isley said during a post-fight media scrum Friday. “It was the perfect fight to prepare for him.”

During his training camp, Isley fought with middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames, who recently defeated Terrell Gausha by unanimous decision. Isley possesses a style that shares some similarities with Gausha’s, and he also sparred with Adames prior to his victory over Victor Toney, in an effort to gauge his progress.

“After my last fight, they started calling me a pretender,” Isley said. “I wanted to challenge myself.”

Reflecting on his fight against Martinez, in which both fighters were penalized for low blows, Isley believes his performance showed his class.

“Everyone noticed the talent gap — they saw I was the superior fighter,” Isley said. “I am ready to step up my efforts and face the champions now.”

This was Isley’s third fight under head coach Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, who also trains Terence Crawford and Keyshawn Davis. Isley believes his move from former coach Kay Koroma to McIntyre was crucial in his career progression.

“’BoMac has been a big help to me,” Isley said. “He gave me confidence and helped me eliminate my doubts.”

Isley also credited his win over Vladimir Hernandez and victory over late challenges in that fight for being instrumental in his growth as a top fighter.

“After the Vladimir Hernandez fight, those last three rounds were a big mental battle,” Isley said. “Once I got over that, I knew I had become a much stronger and more well-rounded fighter.”