Kiko Martinez
Encyclopedia
Francisco Martinez Sanchez more commonly known as Kiko Martinez (born 28 November, 1984) is a professional boxer from Alicante
, Spain, who fights in the super bantamweight
division. From April 15, 2011, he is the current EBU Super bantamweight champion (for third time in his career).
. He fought 40 amateur bouts and never lost, with 38 of those victories being by knockout. Martinez stated that he "could have gone to the Olympics – the Spanish amateur boxing association wanted me to sign a four-year contract but I wanted to turn professional".
in Madrid
beating David Casero by knockout in the third round on a card that included Javier Castillejo
.
Martinez went on to win all of his first 11 fights with each victory coming via a knockout
within four rounds.
Salem Bouaita for his EBU European Union super bantamweight title at Pabellon de Elche in Spain. This was Martinez's first fight which went past four rounds and the fight went the full scheduled 10 rounds. Martinez was given a unanimous points win and won the title.
Martinez won a further four fights and became the mandatory challenger European super bantamweight title.
fighter, Bernard Dunne
's European super bantamweight title.
Martinez and Dunne clashed on 25 August 2007 at the Point
, Dublin, Ireland. This was Martinez first fight outside of Spain and despite being the challenger he was confident of victory. Martinez stated before the fight that " might be a little shorter than Bernard bit I'm 5 foot 4 inches of a headache for him".
On the night of the fight the Point Depot filled with expectant Irish boxing fans and the fight was beemed live on RTE
, the Irish national television broadcaster. The fight started with Dunne keeping his guard low and circling Martinez. However, Martinez quickly had Dunne on the canvas with an overhand right. Dunne appeared stunned and unaware of what had happened. Dunne beat the count but was floored twice more before the referee stopped the fight inside of only 90 seconds of round one.
The Martinez camp stated that they knew there would be a first round victory and that many of them had placed bets
worth thousands of pounds with Irish bookmaker
s at odds
of 66/1 that Martinez would win in the first round.
, the Las Vegas
based former WBC
bantamweight champion, Wayne McCullough
at Belfast
's Kings Hall on 1 December 2007.
McCullough had not fought for over two year and the Kings Hall venue was sold out for the fight. It was agreed that the non title fight would take place at . However, on the day before the fight there was uproar during the weigh-in and the fight was cancelled amid chaotic scenes.
McCullough had already contracted to fight at 2 lb over the championship weight and he weighed in at . However, Martinez failed to make the agreed weight and was 1.75 lb over the agreed weight.
Martinez was given a couple of hours to shed the excess weight, but did not return to weigh in again and the scales were closed by a BBBofC official. A furious McCullough stated "I couldn't believe it. He comes in over the weight and then after being asked to take it off he just sits there and does nothing. I just can't believe what has happened. I was ready to fight and ready to win and he comes in that much over the weight.".
. This was a title that he had successfully taken from Bernard Dunne
in August 2007. The fight against Munroe took place at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre, Nottingham on 7 March 2008.
The fight turned out to be fairly uneventful as Munroe countered Martinez by blocking and counterpunching, without ever troubling the champion. While Martinez failed to land the big shots that had seen him stop Bernard Dunne
. The fight went the full 12 rounds, with Munroe winning by a majority points decision.
The judges scorecards were as follows:
Franco Ciminale: 113–115
Freddy Rafn Christensen: 113–115
Esa Lehtosaari: 114–114
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Spain, who fights in the super bantamweight
Super Bantamweight
Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms....
division. From April 15, 2011, he is the current EBU Super bantamweight champion (for third time in his career).
Amateur career
Martinez fought extensively as an amateurAmateur boxing
Amateur boxing is practised at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...
. He fought 40 amateur bouts and never lost, with 38 of those victories being by knockout. Martinez stated that he "could have gone to the Olympics – the Spanish amateur boxing association wanted me to sign a four-year contract but I wanted to turn professional".
Debut
Martinez turned professional and had his first pro fight in March 2005, which he won at La Cubierta Stadium, LeganesLeganés
Leganés is a city in central Spain. Part of the greater Madrid conurbation - mainly a satellite-city with a population of 186,066 it is located about 11 km southwest of the city centre....
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
beating David Casero by knockout in the third round on a card that included Javier Castillejo
Javier Castillejo
Francisco Javier Castillejo is a professional boxer from Spain. He is the former WBC light middleweight champion and former WBA middleweight champion. He has fought against stars Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Sturm, Fernando Vargas, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Michael Rask, and Mariano Natalio Carrera...
.
Martinez went on to win all of his first 11 fights with each victory coming via a knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
within four rounds.
EBU title
On 10 March 2006, Martinez faced FrenchmanFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Salem Bouaita for his EBU European Union super bantamweight title at Pabellon de Elche in Spain. This was Martinez's first fight which went past four rounds and the fight went the full scheduled 10 rounds. Martinez was given a unanimous points win and won the title.
Martinez won a further four fights and became the mandatory challenger European super bantamweight title.
Bernard Dunne fight for the EBU title
The EBU made Martinez the mandatory challenger for, IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
fighter, Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne is a retired Irish professional boxer and a former WBA, and European super bantamweight champion.On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne waged the war that he would be best remembered for and defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA super bantamweight champion in a fight...
's European super bantamweight title.
Martinez and Dunne clashed on 25 August 2007 at the Point
Point Theatre
The Point Theatre was a concert and events venue in Ireland, that ran from 1988–2007, enjoyed by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Quay of the River Liffey, amongst the Dublin Docklands...
, Dublin, Ireland. This was Martinez first fight outside of Spain and despite being the challenger he was confident of victory. Martinez stated before the fight that " might be a little shorter than Bernard bit I'm 5 foot 4 inches of a headache for him".
On the night of the fight the Point Depot filled with expectant Irish boxing fans and the fight was beemed live on RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, the Irish national television broadcaster. The fight started with Dunne keeping his guard low and circling Martinez. However, Martinez quickly had Dunne on the canvas with an overhand right. Dunne appeared stunned and unaware of what had happened. Dunne beat the count but was floored twice more before the referee stopped the fight inside of only 90 seconds of round one.
The Martinez camp stated that they knew there would be a first round victory and that many of them had placed bets
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
worth thousands of pounds with Irish bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
s at odds
Odds
The odds in favor of an event or a proposition are expressed as the ratio of a pair of integers, which is the ratio of the probability that an event will happen to the probability that it will not happen...
of 66/1 that Martinez would win in the first round.
Challenge of Wayne McCullough
Martinez had signed to fight another IrishmanIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, the Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
based former WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
bantamweight champion, Wayne McCullough
Wayne McCullough
Wayne William McCullough is a professional boxer. During his professional career, which spans back to 1993, he held the WBC title in the Bantamweight category...
at Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
's Kings Hall on 1 December 2007.
McCullough had not fought for over two year and the Kings Hall venue was sold out for the fight. It was agreed that the non title fight would take place at . However, on the day before the fight there was uproar during the weigh-in and the fight was cancelled amid chaotic scenes.
McCullough had already contracted to fight at 2 lb over the championship weight and he weighed in at . However, Martinez failed to make the agreed weight and was 1.75 lb over the agreed weight.
Martinez was given a couple of hours to shed the excess weight, but did not return to weigh in again and the scales were closed by a BBBofC official. A furious McCullough stated "I couldn't believe it. He comes in over the weight and then after being asked to take it off he just sits there and does nothing. I just can't believe what has happened. I was ready to fight and ready to win and he comes in that much over the weight.".
Martinez first loss
Kiko Martinez made his first defence of the EBU super bantamweight title against Rendall MunroeRendall Munroe
Rendall Munroe is an English super bantamweight boxer. Munroe currently resides in Leicester and is the WBA International Super Bantamweight champion. He is also a former holder of the EBU and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight titles. His dayjob as a binman is well publicised as his nickname is 'The...
. This was a title that he had successfully taken from Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne is a retired Irish professional boxer and a former WBA, and European super bantamweight champion.On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne waged the war that he would be best remembered for and defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA super bantamweight champion in a fight...
in August 2007. The fight against Munroe took place at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre, Nottingham on 7 March 2008.
The fight turned out to be fairly uneventful as Munroe countered Martinez by blocking and counterpunching, without ever troubling the champion. While Martinez failed to land the big shots that had seen him stop Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne
Bernard Dunne is a retired Irish professional boxer and a former WBA, and European super bantamweight champion.On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne waged the war that he would be best remembered for and defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA super bantamweight champion in a fight...
. The fight went the full 12 rounds, with Munroe winning by a majority points decision.
The judges scorecards were as follows:
Franco Ciminale: 113–115
Freddy Rafn Christensen: 113–115
Esa Lehtosaari: 114–114