Boxing: Expect Frampton to be the first man to stop Kiko Martinez

8Feb 2013

Betfair

Alex Steedman is back with a look at three fights featuring Irish fighters as Carl Frampton, Andy Lee and Martin Lindsay all return to the ring.

It can be that a match between fearsome punchers fails to provide expected fireworks with both wary of the other's power but Carl Frampton against Kiko Martinez ought not to disappoint. Martinez 5.6 only knows one way to fight with six 1st round knockouts underlining his threat while Frampton 1.23 is a positive boxer with technique and the punch to back it up.

Frampton has stopped 10 of his 15 opponents on an impressive, unbeaten run which sees the Belfast native among our hottest prospects. Backed up by mentor and manager Barry McGuigan along with his son Shane who trains, Frampton was terrific when halting former world champion Steve Molitor in six rounds last September. Certainly Molitor came to Belfast as a jaded version of himself but he was dominated from the start and Frampton was masterful in the way he maneuvered Molitor into position. The boy is a talent.

Like Frampton, Martinez had world title pretensions back in 2009 when he lost an eliminator to Takalani Ndlovu. The South African victor subsequently won one and lost one in 24 rounds with Molitor. Since then Martinez is unbeaten in seven having won back and defended his European title. Though he has lost three times including twice to recently retired Rendall Munroe, Martinez has never been stopped. This is a real test of where Frampton is at and is heading.

Martinez can be crude, he makes mistakes which Frampton can punish and the McGuigans will have a tactical plan to prosper as they did against Molitor. Frampton was technically and tactically brilliant that night bringing guile and tack to bear alongside power. I'm hoping he can bring it again to make a statement in becoming the first man to halt Martinez.

It is not uncommon these days for a main event to be upstaged by the undercard and so it is that Martin Lindsay's fight to win back his old, British Featherweight title against champion Lee Selby should be a cracker.

Lindsay was brutally efficient when he ripped the title from Paul Appleby in 2009 on a steamy, atmospheric night across at the Ulster Hall. Expect something similar from both crowd and fighter again and Lindsay has the hand speed and power to give Selby bother. But, make no mistake about it, this is a big jump back up in class for the local man who marked time with routine wins in 2012.

Selby is a different test entirely and the Welshman comes into this flying on the back of four incredible stoppage wins. Selby has beaten two British champions along the way and became the first man to stop the tough John Simpson who was hammered with a fifth round body shot. Selby is an unorthodox and creative boxer, unlike anything Lindsay has faced before. Lindsay's jab will be important but Selby has the speed and variety to prevail and probably send the likeable Lindsay into retirement.

The Sky cameras will be rolling for this one and hopefully in action to record Andy Lee's return to action and his homecoming too. This will be Lee's first fight since his valiant stoppage loss to Chavez Jr in June and his first since his mentor Manny Steward passed away.

He ought to be too classy for Anthony Fitzgerald but it's worth remembering Fitzgerald stopped a fighter who had gone the distance with both Lee and Darren Barker so he might be sturdy enough to go the ten rounds. Either way, Lee remains in the mix with Barker, Macklin and Martin Murray who faces the great Sergio Martinez in April.