Julio Cesar Martinez’s comeback campaign will kickstart May 31 in Mexico.

The former flyweight champion Martinez (20-3, 15 KOs) and junior lightweight contender Angel Daniel Garcia (18-1, 14 KOs) are set to be featured in 10-rounders against local opponents yet to be determined as part of a Zanfer Boxing on TV Azteca show at the Palenque del FEX in Mexicali.

The 30-year-old Martinez’s career has been marked by inconsistency and controversy in recent years.

Martinez, who is trained and managed by Eddy Reynoso, has faced criticism for withdrawing from scheduled bouts, failing to make weight in his 2022 defeat to Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, and most notably, testing positive for a banned diuretic (S5 Diuretics) after securing a majority decision over Angelino Cordova in March 2024.

The victory was later overturned to a no-ontest by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which also fined and suspended Martinez.

It wasn’t Martinez’s first run-in with drug testing protocols. In 2019, “El Rey” tested positive for Clenbuterol during a random screening as part of the WBC's Clean Boxing Program. At the time, the WBC absolved him and attributed the results to the possible ingestion of tainted meat, a known issue in Mexico.

Martinez vacated his WBC flyweight title in May and announced he’d move up to 115 pounds.