Josh Warrington erased 15 months of misery with a stunning performance to stop Kiko Martinez and win back his featherweight world title.
The home favourite began like a man possessed and refused to hit the brakes on another electric night in front of his army of fans in Leeds. Warrington dropped the champion in the opening round and continued to dominate until the fight was stopped in the seventh session.
Warrington, 31, had beaten the Spaniard five years ago before their career paths took very different directions. The Leeds man first won the same title in 2018 via a split decision against Lee Selby and vacated the belt 14 months ago after a unification fight against then WBA champion Xu Can fell through.
He was then knocked out by Mauricio Lara in a stunning upset behind closed doors before their rematch was cut short when Lara was cut over his eye in the second round. Defending champion Martinez, meanwhile, opted to face Warrington in the challenger’s home city for his first defence of the belt he surprisingly won by knocking out Sheffield’s Kid Galahad last November.
But he was immediately in trouble when he was dumped on the canvas in the opening round. Martinez survived but was in trouble and Warrington continued his relentless pace in the second session as Martinez struggled to deal with his challenger's opening salvo.
Inevitably, Warrington was forced to dial back his frenetic pace but he remained dominant through rounds three and four with Martinez cut over both eyes, seemingly the result of headbutts from the challenger. The Spaniard attempted to rally in the fifth stanza but he was facing an uphill task as the fight reached the midway point.
Can Josh Warrington win a second world title? Let us know in the comments section below
Martinez had been in a similar position on the scorecards against Galahad before producing a stunning stoppage but this was an altogether tougher ask and he showed no sign of turning the tide by the end of the sixth round. Martinez was in trouble again in the seventh session and when Warrington pinned him on the ropes, the referee stepped in after one final flurry.
"I've got my belt back," Warrington said. "It wasn't just for me, or my family and my wife and kids, it was for all these who supported me. I've had seven bells knocked out of me by Mauricio Lara, they were there for me at Headingly for the rematch and they've been here for me again. When I'm on it and these lot turn out, there's nothing like it in the world."
