Boxing
Josh Warrington must be careful against the right hand of Kiko Martinez
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It’s Leeds once again for Josh Warrington this weekend and their former world champion is facing perhaps the biggest night of his career as he aims to prove that he’s very much an elite level fighter. In Kiko Martinez, Warrington takes on a familiar foe, but their rematch, nearly five years after their first meeting, looks very different from when they first crossed paths.
In 2017, Warrington was climbing the rankings and on his way to becoming one of the biggest draws in British boxing due to the local support he had in his home city. Before the big nights against Lee Selby and Carl Frampton, incredible performances I must say, Warrington took on Martinez, and it was a night where it almost went wrong for Josh.
Kiko was Kiko and that means non-stop aggression and heavy hands. He gave Warrington all he could ask for that night and was very unfortunate not to come away with the win. That was a version of Kiko who everyone, myself included, was in decline taking on Warrington, a fighter who was definitely on the up. Saturday night couldn't be any more dissimilar.
Two of the biggest upsets of 2021 featured fights including Warrington and Martinez. Last February, Warrington, without his fanatical Leeds support, took on the unknown Mexican, Mauricio Lara, behind closed doors. The result was emphatic. Lara bossed the contest from the first bell and finally forced a stoppage in round nine. It was a disastrous result for Warrington.
In November just gone, Martinez was a big underdog when he went in with Kid Galahad for the Sheffield man’s world title. After dropping Galahad with a huge shot at the end of round five, the Spaniard didn’t waste any time in the following session as he scored a brilliant knockout to become world champion for a second time. Now comes Martinez vs. Warrington for a second time.
How confident will Martinez come into this bout following the biggest win of his career against a fighter who endured a tough 2021. Warrington was taken apart by Lara and when they faced each other again in September, it wasn’t convincing as it was ended after two rounds due to a cut suffered by Lara. I’d be very shocked if Warrington took anything from that result.
In this fight, he has to start cautious and grow into the fight because if this becomes a brawl early on then Kiko is going to do a lot of damage. Warrington should grow into this fight and try and avoid any exchanges in the early rounds. If Josh is caught early, then all those memories from the Lara fight are going to come back immediately and that could signal terrible things for Warrington.
I’m going to say that Josh wins. He boxes smart early and then takes over later in the fight, but he must be careful for every single second he’s in that ring. Kiko has one of the best right hands in the whole featherweight division, and if he lands that on Josh, then the fight will turn dramatically, and it could mean the end for Warrington at the highest level.
