By Jack Price @PriceyJ97
European super-bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez travels to Belfast on February 9th to take on highly-rated Irishman Carl Frampton. The Spaniard goes into the fight as the slight underdog but he claims that he will KO his “un-tested” opponent.
“I feel I will win by knockout, or they’ll stop the fight (be)cause of the beating I’m going to put on him. That’s how I see it in my mind,” Martinez told WorldBoxingNews.
“I don’t worry about the judges. This is a great country for boxing, it’s a serious title up for grabs and it’s not Germany or France. They know about boxing here and the judges will be fair.”
“I think Frampton will try to run, I think he’ll box and he won’t go toe-to-toe. I know I’m a lot stronger than him. When I’m in the ring with him, he won’t want to fight with me. He knows it, his corner knows it and all of Ireland knows it.”
Martinez is a well-known fighter in Ireland having fought there four times already, and has no worries of facing the home favourite in Frampton. He also believes that ‘The Jackal’s’ most recent victory over former world champ Steve Molitor was not as impressive as some people think.
“I think Molitor didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for that fight, and he didn’t really want to fight anymore. It was easy for Frampton and Molitor wasn’t the fighter that he was in the past. Belfast fans know their boxing, they’re not stupid and they would be of the same opinion as me,” said Martinez.
“I’m glad to be fighting in Belfast, people will recognise me more over there for the champion that I am, and they like my style. They know me well and boxing is big there, much bigger than in Spain. This fight is taking place where it really should be, in Ireland. This is going to be a big fight for all of Europe.”
This is an extremely big night for Frampton and his army of followers. The 25-year old faces yet another step up in class when he meets Martinez in the squared circle. However, he can take confidence from his 26-year old opponent’s most recent performances. Despite being still relatively young, Martinez seems to be on a slight decline and doesn’t fight with the same ferocious aggression that he once did. Despite this, it will still be a tough test for Frampton and no doubt the hardest fight of his career so far. Both sides are extremely confident for this one which can only make for a fantastic night at the Oddyssey Arena on February 9th.
