Spain’s Kiko Martinez 43-10-2 (30) used his veteran savvy to overcome an early deficit to stop IBF featherweight champion Kid Galahad 28-2 (17) in six frames at Sheffield Arena in Shaffield, England on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old veteran looked to be on a hiding to nothing for the first four rounds before unleashing a fight-altering overhand right late in the fifth that send Galahad to the deck.
The titleholder survived the count and saw out the last few seconds of the round, but Martinez didn’t let him off the hook. Another booming right hand sent him down again in the opening seconds of the sixth and referee Steve Gray called a halt to the contest at the 0:06 mark of the round.
“It may be a surprise for everyone else but not for me,” Martinez said after the fight.
“For the last three years I have been living like a monk, I’ve had no holidays, no time with my family, no days off, 365 days of the year I have been working.
“My wife has helped me a lot with my anxiety, to make sure I keep on top of that but I prepared for this and working really hard for those three years.
“I am now in better shape than ever, better than when I was 20 years of age. I’m more dedicated, I think I have done big things tonight.”
Martinez ruled as IBF super bantamweight champion in 2013 and 2014 before dropping a 12-round points decision to Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton.
Stoppage losses to Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz followed before he went close to defeating Josh Warrington in a majority decision loss.
Between wins over journeymen Martinez was stopped in five by WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr when he suffered a cut eye in May 2019.
In February this year he dropped a 12-round decision to Zelfa Barrett at Wembley Stadium in London.
For all intents and purposes, he looked like a soft touch for Galahad and for most of the first five rounds the fight followed the script.
Martinez was cut over the right eye in round three and was being comprehensively outboxed by the switch-hitting Galahad.
According to CompuBox, Galahad was the more active fighter, averaging 96.6 punches per round to Martinez’s 48.9.
The champion, who was making his first world title defence, was the better jabber with 62.8 attempts for 10.1 connects per round to Martinez’s 14.1 for 1.8.
He was also the more accurate puncher and the more prolific body puncher but it all accounted for nought when Martinez knocked him down.
Promoter Eddie Hearn was left shocked by the result.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just seen,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said.
“It was the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen in a boxing ring. It was such a one-sided fight. It was beat-down, a masterclass.”
