By Ian S Palmer
IBF Featherweight Champion Kid Galahad of Qatar takes veteran Kiko Martinez of Spain in Sheffield, England this Saturday, November 13th. The 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Galahad, who fights out of England, won the vacant belt in August with by stopping James Dickens after 11 rounds. Martinez, a former IBF Super Bantamweight world titleholder last fought in September when he beat Jayro Duran by an eight-round unanimous decision.
The 31-year-old Galahad was born Abdul Barry Awad in Doha,Qatar and resides in Sheffield, England. He enters the ring with a record of 28-1 with 17 Kos with his only loss coming at the hands of Josh Warrington by split decision in 2019 for the IBF Featherweight Crown. He’s got decent power with a current knockout ratio of 58.6 per cent but isn’t known as a heavy banger.
Back in May, 2015 Galahad was handed a two-year ban for failing a drug test but the suspension was later reduced to 18 months. Since turning pro he’s won several minor and regional titles such as the WBC International, British, European, and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Titles as well as the IBF Youth Super Bantamweight Crown and the IBF Inter-Continental Featherweight Title.
His biggest wins have come against Dickens (twice), Toka Khan Clary, Irving Berry, Jose Cayetano, Adeilson Dos Santos and Jason Booth. Galahad stands just over 5-feet-6-inches tall and owns a 67-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 182 rounds since. He’s gone the distance in three of his last five outings but stopped all six of his previous half dozen opponents.
The 35-year-old Martinez owns a mark of 42-10-2 with 29 Kos to his name. He’s usually stumbled when fighting the elite of his weight divisions against boxers such as Gary Russell Jr, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Josh Warrington, Leo Santa Cruz, Rendall Munroe and Takalani Ndlovu. Frampton and Munroe beat him twice while Frampton stopped him once as did Quigg and Santa Cruz. He also dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Zelfa Barrett in February.
Martinez won the IBF Super Bantamweight Belt in 2013 by stopping Jonathan Romero in the sixth round. He defended it against Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa by knockout before losing it to Frampton by unanimous decision. He’s also beaten Bernard Dunne, Arsen Matirosyan and Jason Booth as a pro while his two draws were with Eusebio Osejo over eight rounds in 2016 and a three-round technical affair with Marc Vidal two years later.
Along the way Martinez has also captured the European Super Bantamweight Title a couple of times as well as the and WBO Latino Super Bantamweight Crown. He’s basically in the twilight of his career at the moment and this title shot against Galahad should be a decent payday for his eventual retirement. Martinez’s fights are usually quite exciting due to his power and unsteady chin as he has 29 Ko’s in 42 wins and has been stopped in four of his 10 defeats.
His current knockout ratio sits at 53.7 per cent and he stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach and has 320 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2004. This gives him a slight 1.5-inch height and 1-inch reach disadvantage against Galahad. Martinez is a solid pro who has had several world title shots in the past but it’s really unclear how he deserves this one.
Prediction……
Galahad looked tremendous against Dickens in their rematch earlier this year while Martinez has a loss and win so far in 2021. Martinez always has a puncher’s chance when he fights but Galahad’s speed, aggressiveness and energy should prove to be too much for him.
