By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten Carl “The Jackal” Frampton (15-0, 10 KO’s) will be taking a big step up in class on February 9th against EBU super bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (27-3, 19 KO’s) at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the 25-year-old Frampton this presents a really stiff challenge for him because he’s been matched against less than spectacular opposition since he turned pro in 2009.
Earlier this year, Frampton struggled to beat Raul Hirales by a 12 round unanimous decision in May. Frampton briefly attempted to slug it out with the hard hitting Hirales, but as soon as he found out that he was in with a harder hitter, Frampton played it safe and fought in a dull defensive manner for the remainder of the fight.