Although Mexican by birth, Martín Amarillas’ boxing career was built primarily in the United States. He had a strong record in the middleweight division prior to attending the 1988 Summer Olympics, but he lost his first bout to eventual bronze medalist Syed Hussain Shah of Pakistan. He turned professional shortly after the Games and had a career that was steady through 1989 and 1990, but began to taper off after that. In 1991 and 1992 he contested only six bouts, losing four of them, and then took part in one more fight each in 1994 and 1995 before retiring for good and settling in California.
Mexico