By Scott Gilfoid: #2 IBF Carl Frampton (18-0, 13 KOs) will be challenging IBF super bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (31-4, 23 KOs) for his title on September 6th at the Titanic Quarter, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Frampton’s management was able to make it worthwhile for Kiko to fight in Frampton’s home country on 9/6 instead of Kiko’s home in Spain. You’ve got to hope that we don’t see a controversial decision in this fight because that would be a tragedy.
Frampton defeated Kiko last year in February in the 9th round when he caught him with a big shot while on the run. Frampton was having major problems with Martinez’s power, and had to get on his bicycle in order to keep from taking too much punishment during the exchanges.
Martinez had to chase Frampton around the ring, and that was the reason why he got sloppy. In hindsight, Martinez would have been better off standing his ground waiting for Frampton to stop running and come to him so that the two of them could trade shots. Martinez made a mistake by chasing a runner, and you don’t want to do that because then you plan into their hands.
“I know I’m a smarter fighter,” Frampton said to the Irishtimes.com. “If I listen carefully and execute my game plan, I have full confidence that I will win this fight.”
The last fight between them wasn’t determined on Frampton being the smarter guy. It was more of a case of him landing a shot when Martinez got sloppy from chasing him around the ring. Martinez’s trainers should have told him not to chase Frampton.
He would have come to him eventually after tiring of running in circles without Martinez chasing him. That would have looked bad if Frampton had moved for no real reason, and that’s why Martinez needed to stand still and wait on him.
You never see Floyd Mayweather Jr chasing a fighter down if they use movement, because he knows they’ll eventually have to come to him.
Frampton has won two fights since the Martinez fight, beating Jeremy Parodi and Hugo Fidel Cazares.
Kiko has won his fights as well in defeating Damian David Marchiano, Jhonatan Romero, Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa. Martinez has beaten the far better opposition than Frampton, and that’s pretty much the reason why he’s the IBF super bantamweight champion and not Frampton.
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