By Jack Sumner @Jack_Sumner_
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| Frampton celebrates with his European title. |
They predicted a war and they got one.
Carl Frampton had to endure nine rounds of relentless
pressure from the aggressive Kiko Martinez, before a hard right hand dropped
the Spaniard for the first time in his career and relieved him of his EBU super
bantamweight title.
Backed into a corner with fourteen seconds remaining in the
ninth session of the bout at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena, the ‘Jackal’ delivered
the short right with Martinez walking in to transfigure his opponent’s legs
into jelly. Kiko the warrior attempted to get up but was back on his feet a
little too quickly and after staggering into the ropes, referee Anssi Perajoki
called a halt to the contest.
A contest it certainly was though and early in the fight it
became clear that Frampton was in deeper than he ever had been before. Martinez
had given the cut-throat gestures at the fiery weigh-in and reminded the
Northern Irishman of his power in the second round, landing with hurtful shots
when Frampton infrequently fought in close. However, the unbeaten challenger
kept his head above water by boxing on the back foot, retreating as Martinez
bombed forward with menacing pressure.
