Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton faces his ‘Judgement Day’ when he steps into Belfast’s Odyssey Arena this Saturday, when the Northern Irishman attempts to rip the European super bantamweight title from it’s tough Spanish holder Kiko Martinez.
Frampton (15-0, 10 KOs) has been on a steep trajectory of late, culminating in the impressive sixth-round stoppage of former IBF champion Steve Molitor in September. The Odyssey was rocking that night as the hometown boy dominated the experienced Canadian in a performance that reverberated at world level, but the visiting fighter on this occasion will be no stranger to the atmosphere having entered the lion’s den many times before.
Martinez (27-3, 19 KOs) is a true champion of Europe having fought and won all over the continent and is undefeated on five trips to the Emerald Isle. He broke Irish hearts in Dublin when he stopped then unbeaten Bernard Dunne inside a round in 2007 and has set his sights on repeating that feat north of the border, by knocking out the Ulsterman Frampton this weekend.
Both men have real firepower at the weight and both men come to fight, whilst neither man has tasted the canvas in their professional career. Martinez’s three losses were all by competitive decision, twice to Rendall Munroe and once to South African Takalani Ndlovu at altitude in Johannesburg.
