Kiko Martinez vs Josh Warrington Preview March 26th, 2022
IBF Featherweight Champion Kiko Martinez of Spain will be taking on former champion Josh Warrington this Saturday, March 26th in Warrington’s hometown of Leeds, England. The 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN and is a rematch of their 2017 bout which Warrington won 12-round majority decision. Martinez, who’s also a former IBF Super Bantamweight world titleholder, won the belt in November with a sensational sixth-round knockout of Kid Galahad in an upset. Warrington’s last bout came in September in a rematch with Mauricio Lara but it was a two-round technical draw as Lara was cut by an accidental butt. Lara had beaten Warrington seven months earlier via a ninth-round stoppage.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Martinez vs Warrington Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Kiko Martinez +275
- Josh Warrington -375
My Pick
The 36-year-old Martinez owns a mark of 43-10-2 with 30 Kos to his name. He’s usually fallen just short when fighting the elite of his weight divisions against boxers such as Gary Russell Jr, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Warrington, Leo Santa Cruz, Rendall Munroe and Takalani Ndlovu but of course hit the jackpot against Kid Galahad the last time out.
He has his fair share of losses as 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, 2021. 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. It appeared he was in the twilight of his career before beating Galahad and now has the shot at another decent payday for his eventual retirement.
Martinez’s fights are usually quite exciting due to his power and unsteady chin as he has 30 Ko’s in 43 wins and has been stopped in four of his 10 defeats. His current knockout ratio sits at 54.6 per cent and he stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach with 326 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2004.
The 31-year-old Warrington enters the contest with an impressive record of 30-1-1 with 7 Kos. Yes, that’s just seven stoppages which means he might not appear to be too much of a threat to Martinez once again when it comes to power with a current knockout ratio of just 21.9 per cent. However, I thought the same thing in his outing against Sofiane Takoucht in September, 2019 and Warrington disposed of him in under 360 seconds. .
Warrington won the IBF title when he beat Lee Selby by split decision in May, 2018 then defended it against Carl Frampton by unanimous decision in December and Kid Galahad by split decision in June, 2019 before taking out Takoucht. However, he then gave up the belt as he didn’t want to face Galahad again in a mandatory defence.
Warrington stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach which gives him a two-inch height advantage and one-inch edge in reach on Martinez. He turned pro in 2009 and has boxed 242 rounds since. He’s also captured several regional and minor titles including the English, British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International Featherweight Titles.
Warrington has fought all his bouts in his homeland with his most recognizable foes so far being Martinez, Galahad, Frampton, Selby, Patrick Hyland, Rendall Munroe, Martin Lindsay, Hisashi Amagasa and Dennis Ceylan. Warrington’s a fine boxer with a lot of heart but his chin was a problem against Lara last year.
He may lack knockout power, but he managed to wobble Frampton a couple of times and took out Takoucht quickly so perhaps he’s been working on his power. He had stopped three of his previous seven opponents before running into Lara and with a bit more power added to the rest of his skills he should remain a formidable opponent for anybody.
Prediction……
It’s hard to imagine Martinez outboxing Warrington at this stage of their careers but he certainly has the power to stop him if he lands on the chin and he may need to considering the state of judging in the UK recently. Martinez always has a puncher’s chance when he fights but Warrington’s skills lead me to believe that this fight will go the same way their first meeting did five years ago with Warrington doing just enough to win on points.
Warrington’s overall skills should result in a victory.
Play: Warrington -375 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Josh Warrington betting • Kiko Martinez betting