Josh Warrington regained the IBF featherweight belt when he stopped Kiko Martinez in the seventh round at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England, on Saturday night.
Warrington was in control from the opening round after scoring a knockdown.
When the new champions scored with a barrage of punches in round seven the referee stopped the fight at 2:12 into round.
This was a return match with Warrington winning on a controversial points decision in 2017.
Warrington improved his record to 31-1-1; 8 and Martinez’s record dropped to 43-11-2; 30.
UNDERCARD
Ebanie Bridges (8-1; 3) beat IBF female bantamweight champion Maria Cecilia Roman (16-6-1; 0) on points over ten rounds. The scores were 100-91 and 97-93 twice.
In an IBO lightweight contest Maxi Hughes (25-5-2; 5) won on points over 12 rounds against Ryan Walsh (27-4-2; 12). The scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110.
ROUNDUP
ISTVAN SZILI BEATS FELIX STURM
In what was considered an upset the 39-year-old Istvan Szili (26-2-2; 14) won on a majority 12-round points decision over the 43-year-old Felix Strum (42-6-3; 18) in an IBO super middleweight belt eliminator on Saturday night at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany. The scores were 116-111, 115-113 and 114-114.
RYNO LIEBENBERG RETURNS TO ACTION WITH A WIN
On the undercard in a super middleweight bout, South Africa’s 38-year-old Ryno Liebenberg (22-8-1; 14) returned to action after previously announcing his retirement, to win on an eight-round unanimous points decision against former IBF junior middleweight champion 43-year-old Kassim “The Dream” Ouma (29-17;1, 18).
IBF Youth middleweight champion Simon Zachenhuber (16-0; 9) won on a third-round stoppage against Maurice Morio (8-3; 3).
In a heavyweight bout Oleksandr Zakhozhyi (17-0; 13) won on a first-round stoppage against Evgenios Lazaridis (17-4; 11).
CHRISTIAN MBILI WINS IN FIVE
Christian Mbili (21-0; 18), the WBC No 9 rated super middleweight, retained his WBC Continental Americas title with a fifth-round knockout win over Najib Mohammedi (44-9; 27) on Saturday night at the Casino de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
On the same card junior middleweight Artem “Razor” Oganesyan (13-0; 11) stopped Stephen Danyo (20-4-3; 7) in the fifth round.
GUSTAVO LEMOS STOPS LEE SELBY IN FIVE
Lightweight Gustavo Daniel Lemos (27-0; 18) from Argentina won on a fifth-round technical knockout over former world champion Lee Selby (28-4; 9) of England at the Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina on Saturday night.
JEREMIAH NAKATHILA WINS IN SIX
Lightweight Jeremia Nakathila (23-2, 19) stopped former world champion Miguel Berchelt (38-3; 34) in the sixth round on Saturday night at Resorts World Las Vegas.
TIM TSZYU WINS ON USA DEBUT
Making his USA debut WBO No 1 rated junior middleweight Tim Tszyu (21-0; 15) took a one-sided unanimous 12-round points decision over 2012 US Olympian Terrell Gausha (22-3-1; 11) on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Gausha scored a knockdown in the first round but Tszyu then picked up the pace to win with scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 114-113.
In a clash of unbeaten lightweights, WBA No 2 rated Michel “La Zarza Ali” Rivera (23-0; 14) outscored Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno (14-1-2; 12) over ten rounds. The scores were 97-93 3 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Junior welterweight Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodríguez (13-1-1; 12) won on a seventh-round knockout against Juan José Velasco (23-3; 14). Time was 2:49.
MIKE PEREZ WINS IN TEN
WBA No 9 cruiserweight Mike Perez (27-3-1; 18) won on a tenth-round technical knockout against Vasil Ducar (10-5-1; 9) on Saturday night at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai. Perez retained the WBA Intercontinental title.