Warrington, 31, regained the same IBF crown he lost 14 months ago in a thrilling way, winning a tough and resilient defending champion to indulge a partisan, sold-out crowd at First Direct Arena. Martinez, who somehow survived a knockdown in the first round and was badly cut above his left eye, received a barrage of heavy punches in the seventh and the referee stopped the match two minutes and 12 seconds after the round. Warrington proved to his critics that they were wrong with a whirlwind appearance in front of the noisy army of his fans, returning to the top of his weight class and putting behind him in style a miserable 2021. “The Leeds Warrior” unleashed a savage attack on Martinez from the start bell. Image: Warrington defeated Kiko Martinez in the first round in Leeds A vicious right hook landed on Martinez’s chin and sent him to the canvas. He stood up after counting eight before making a cut above his left eye, near his nose. The defending champions came under heavy pressure in the second round as the Leeds crowd roared at Warrington in what they hoped would be an early victory. But Martinez proved to be as hard as a walnut. He overcame the storm and looked to return to the race as Warrington left the pedal. Warrington had his opponent on the ropes again in the fourth round and a series of abstraction rights in the fifth raised the arena to full intensity. Martinez was slow to come out for the sixth, as his sharp eye had the tendency and he finished the round by shaking his head in the affirmative, after being caught by another bar right at the end. Image: Warrington celebrated in the ring with Leeds defender Luke Eiling Warrington felt it was his time and threw the Spaniard early in the seventh, trapping him on the ropes and immobilizing him before the referee intervened to end the match. Yorkshireman has recovered from his first defeat of his career and a technical draw in his two previous games, both against emerging Mexican Mauricio Lara. Warrington had dropped his weight class, but after ousting Martinez for the second time – he beat him by points in the same area in 2017 – he regained the IBF belt and now has even bigger awards in his sights. An all-British showdown against Nottingham’s Leigh Wood on Elland Road or City Ground has been discussed, as have US unification battles against WBC champion Mark Magsayo or WBO belt holder Emanuel Navarrete.
