Josh Warrington challenged Spaniard Kiko Martinez for the IBF featherweight crown on Saturday night in Leeds in a somewhat surreal match. Luke G. Williams previews the action…
On February 13 of last year, Josh Warrington was amazingly knocked out of his undefeated record by the lackluster and vicious punches of Mexican upstart Mauricio Lara so far.
That same night, in a similar match, Spaniard Kiko Martinez fell to Zelfa Barrett on a scorecard that – even by recent British ring standards – was truly terrifying.
Few would bet that just over a year later, the two losers on that eerie night behind closed doors at Wembley Arena will meet in a world championship contest.
However, here we are preparing Josh Warrington against Kiko Martinez, a match and rematch of the world championship as surreal as it is fascinating.
These two hardened fighters first met in May 2017 – less than 5 years ago in simple terms, but a felt date – amid the coronavirus end-of-day atmosphere and the economic chaos. economic and political is on the rise – that it may have taken place in an entirely different universe.
On that night, Warrington was a 24-0 prospect and Martinez – then 36-7-1 – a stepping stone to one final world title – truth be told – few felt the Leeds warrior was capable ability, class or punch to win.
Martinez objected to the fairness of the majority decision Warrington made that night, although for this observer, the Leeds man did enough to win. One thing is for sure – using this fight as an indicator of what could happen on Saturday night is a perilous strategy.
Both men have been in decline since then – in fact, in 2017, Martinez is a fighter who has fallen severely and, finally, over three years since losing his IBF super bantamweight world title in hand of Carl Frampton and was stopped at two and five innings of Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz in 2015 and 2016.
Post-Warrington, the Spaniard will lose two more times to Gary Russell Jr as well as the aforementioned Barrett, and appears to have entered gatekeeper territory.
When Martinez was given the unwarranted – and, let’s not forget, much mocked – of winning the Kid Galahad IBF featherweight title last November, he looked like a boxer nearing the end of his career. his career for nearly five innings.
However, he later beat the Sheffield stylist with a sensational and career-changing right-handed swing, finishing the job in the following round with an even bigger right-hander.
Warrington’s decline is harder to measure than Martinez’s. However, it’s certainly not possible – after the constant loss he suffered against Lara – for him to replicate the top-notch performances he produced against Lee Selby and Carl Frampton in 2015. 2018.
However, although Martinez was praised for his determination, courage and longevity, as well as his ability to stay fit, this was the match Warrington really loved to win, especially when it was in his favor. about his hometown’s support (this was his eleventh game at the First Live Arena).
The bias that seems to be available to home fighters and home fighters in the British ring in recent times suggests this looks like a match that Martinez can only win if he scores a KO, and I like it. Warrington was more cautious than usual to rush into his box. way to win.
