Actor/entrepreneur Eric Martinez has come forward to discuss his involvement in an upcoming celebrity MMA match with rapper DMX.
DMX and Martinez are slated to square off in the ring November 21, during Thunder Promotions’ card headlined by a match between Butterbean vs. Tank Abbott.
“They called me and originally they wanted Busta Rhymes and DMX to fight but scheduling conflicts didn’t allow that to happen,” Eric Martinez told AllHipHop.com. “When they talked to my manager, I said yes. I’ve seen the stuff that says DMX is fighting his manager and its nothing like that. Our company [Powermoves Entertainment] just handled some market branding and promotion, I wasn’t working directly with him. We are going to fight, it’s not a hoax or a publicity stunt.”
In addition running his Albuquerque, New Mexico based marketing/promotions company, Martinez is a burgeoning actor who has been featured in videos and movies starring rappers Tupac Shakur (Ghetto Heaven), Ice Cube (Ghost of Mars) and Master P. (Lockdown).
Martinez’ acting career continues to blossom as he prepares for his first ever high profile boxing match.
“I live in Albuquerque New Mexico and this is known as a fighting state,” Martinez told AllHipHop.com. “This known as a fighting state. [Veteran MMA trainer] Greg Jackson trains out of here, so I been around the fight game my whole life. I’ve trained in the gym. Outside of that, I keep myself in shape all the time.”
Martinez said he was coming to the ring to win, despite DMX’s tough guy role in raps and in hit movies like Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and others.
“I will be ready,” a confident Martinez promised. “I can’t speak for DMX. We did our photo shoot and he looks in decent shape. We are two men. All the stuff he does in the studio goes out the window. I am sure he does not want to lose either. A lot of people are asking me if I’m nervous about his street cred. We will be ready for anything.”
Martinez will make an appearance during Latino Fashion Week in Chicago from November 2-8, where he will debut his new clothing line Adrian Nairda with business partner Sean Amalla.
