For too long, Leanna Martinez has been away from the ring, especially locally.
“I’m excited to be back fighting in my hometown,” she said of the upcoming Pat Holmes-promoted “The Return” card coming up Nov. 1 at the Ohkay Resort Casino. “It’s going to be a pretty exciting fight. The last time I fought in my hometown was in 2019, so it’s been quite a while. I’m excited to have all of my family and friends there to support me.”
Martinez, 33, last stepped in the ring in February 2023, but she has been battling health issues for some time.
“It didn’t go too well,” she said of her last fight in Hobbs. “I’ve been working on so many things. I’m a completely different fighter at this point.”
Martinez, who is a registered nurse and works around the area as a home healthcare professional, was diagnosed with autoimmune diseases.
“It was very debilitating,” she said. “I didn’t even think I’d be able to box again after how bad it got. But I was able to overcome it. I ended up getting treatment and a new diet and now I’m so much better and stronger. I’m actually able to wean off the medication so I’m not fully on medication.”
The whole ordeal led Martinez to change how she approached nutrition.
“After my last fight, I started battling health issues, but I was still training the whole time and it took a toll on my body completely,” she said. “So I had to change my diet and now, I’m vegan. I went from being a meat eater, so it’s a huge life change. But I’m so much healthier and stronger because of that diet change.”
Martinez sits at 4-4 in her career with two knockouts, although she maintains one of her losses was eventually ruled a no contest and has not been changed yet by the New Mexico Boxing Commission. She’ll face Maryguenn Vellinga of Park City, Utah, who comes in with a 4-5-2 record after last having fought in March in Albuquerque, losing to Katherine Renee Lindenmuth.
For Martinez, boxing is quite a departure from her everyday life as a nurse, serving the elderly in her hometown of Cordova, as well as Truchas, Chimayó and occasionally Española.
“It’s nice to take care of the elderly where I’m from,” she said. “It keeps them out of the nursing home. If they don’t have families to take care of them, we’re able to keep them in their homes. Home health care is something I love to do. It’s become my passion, really.”
And her patients have become some of her biggest fans.
“They’re always really interested,” Martinez said. “They love to hear about my training and upcoming fights. For this fight, I have a few patients who are going to my fight and they’ll be there supporting me. And a lot of their families will be going, as well.”
That response from her patients is invaluable in keeping her going, Martinez said.
“I have a lot of support from the patients and they really push me to want to do good for them and represent them,” she said. “It pushes me. They’re very inspiring. It’s awesome for them to be sitting in the crowd. They’re sick and elderly, but it’s just amazing that they’re willing to get out of the house; get out to come watch me and it’s very inspiring and motivational. It means the world to me that they come watch me fight.”
And Martinez is looking to put on a good show for them, especially after coming off a loss that was a disappointing performance because she didn’t enter the ring at 100%.
“I was kind of going into that fight with injuries so I didn’t get to train to the best of my ability,” she said. “I was comprised and I fought compromised. And I ended up losing because of it.”
But she’s also wiser for the experience.
“I learned so much in the training for that fight,” Martinez said. “I’m a smarter fighter now and I know what not to do and push myself through. I tend to have a no-quit mentality. Even if I should pull out, I still don’t want to. I’ve never been a quitter. But there comes a point in time when I need to make the right decision for my life. Because boxing is a dangerous sport and I’ve learned when I need to put the ego aside if I’m not healthy.”
And now Martinez enters this bout with a new regimen and an improved attitude and is looking to wreak some havoc.
“For this fight, I honestly feel the healthiest and strongest I’ve ever felt in my entire boxing career,” she said. “Because of my health issues, I’ve changed my lifestyle and I’ve been able to be stronger physically and mentally. Now I’m just so much stronger and in such better shape for this fight than I have been my whole career.”