Josh Warrington fought like a man who said with his actions, “enough is enough.”
The Leeds fighter, whose career had been derailed in two unsuccessful fights against Mauricio Lara last year, beat up and then stopped Kiko Martinez in Round 7 of their rematch to become a two-time world titleholder Saturday in his hometown.
Warrington (31-1-1, 8 KOs) was upset by the relatively unknown Lara by a ninth-round knockout and the rematch ended prematurely in a technical draw after Lara was cut by an accidental headbutt.
Thus, Warrington, who had vacated the IBF featherweight belt before the first fight with Lara, had a lot to prove against the holder of the same title at a First Direct Arena packed with the Englishman’s screaming fans.
And the fight was never close. Warrington immediately overwhelmed the champion, winging hard, accurate punches at the opening bell and putting the stunned Spaniard down with a right hand with about a minute to go in the first round.
Martinez (43-11-2, 30 KOs) survived the onslaught but fought from behind the rest of the fight. The courageous 36-year-old, also fighting through multiple cuts, gave everything he had – and had some good moments – but he proved to be a dangerously easy target for Warrington’s sharpshooting.
That gradually wore the champion down and set up the knockout. Two minutes into Round 7 Warrington landed a right and then a sharp left that evidently hurt Martinez. Warrington followed with flurry of unanswered shots, which prompted referee Marcus McDonnell to end the fight at 2:12 of the seventh round.
At that, the crowd erupted while Warrington thrust his arms in the air and did two joyful somersaults.
“Champion again! Champion again!,” he sang to the crowd. “I got my belt back.”
Warrington, 31, might’ve saved his career as an elite fighter with the victory. For the loser, it might be the end.
Martinez, who lost a split decision to Warrington in 2017, was coming off arguably the biggest victory of his 18-year career, a sixth-round KO of Kid Galahad in November that gave him a major title seven years after he last held one.
Indeed, Warrington’s status as a relevant fighter was in jeopardy and Martinez was on top of the world. Then, on Saturday, Warrington demonstrated that one great performance can change everything.