Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez II: Preview and prediction

Josh Warrington and Kiko Martinez are set to clash once again this weekend.

The featherweights will step into the ring against each other for the first time since May 2017. Warrington won the first encounter via majority decision after 12 grueling rounds that saw both men take a tremendous amount of punishment.

In the years that have followed, both men have traversed different paths. The Brit is coming off a loss and a technical draw in the series against Mauricio Lara. Meanwhile, Martinez is coming into the rematch after capturing the IBF featherweight strap win in a win over Kid Galahad in November 2021.

Will Warrington be able to get back to his winning ways? Or will Martinez keep his title reign going? Let's take a look.

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Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez: Preview

In a fight that's a rematch, it's best to look back at the first encounter to get a hint of what is to come in the second. Warrington and Martinez went to war in their first May 2017 bout in Leeds.

The two men spent the vast majority of the bout trading shots. Martinez is a bit of a gunslinger who needs to make the fight wild to have a chance of springing an upset. The Spaniard made the contest dirty and forced Warrington to fight his fight that night.

While it wasn't enough to get a win on the cards, the Spanish boxer still had massive success. Martinez can always go 12 rounds with his incredible cardio and pace, but the Brit matched him every step of the way. Although Warrington did enough to pull off the win, it wasn't easy.

This rematch isn't likely to be very similar, though. The main reason being that Martinez is now 36, and while he's beaten Father Time so far, it will catch up to him at some point. Yes, Warrington has also aged and suffered a loss, but he's still closer to his prime.

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Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez: Prediction

Josh Warrington will need to play it safe on Saturday, and if he can, he stands a great chance at leaving with a world title.

Martinez's best success was forcing their first encounter into a wild brawl. Warrington can brawl occasionally, but his best chance of winning their rematch would be to remain technical. He also desperately needs to be more defensively minded this time.

The Brit is coming off his series with Mauricio Lara. While he lost via knockout the first time around, the second looked on a similar path until a headbutt ended the bout. Martinez has the punching power to get his foe out of there, but he may not be able to.

The Spanish boxer is still great but has noticeably slowed over his past few bouts. While he still has an incredible gas tank and chin, he's probably not going to win a technical bout against Warrington.

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The outcome

Josh Warrington could be being back in the win column on Saturday night. However, this bout has a lot of unknowns coming in, so Martinez has a great shot at pulling off the upset.

That said, if the Brit follows a tight game plan and keeps his chin down, he will leave with the IBF featherweight title.

Prediction: Josh Warrington via decision.