By Shaun Brown
BoxingScene has been informed that IBF super bantamweight champion, Kiko Martinez 31-4 (23) will make the third defence of his title against Northern Ireland’s unbeaten Carl Frampton 18-0 (13) on Sep 6 at an outdoor venue in Belfast, to be confirmed.
After an exemption granted by the IBF, Martinez will travel to Frampton’s back yard looking to avenge his last professional loss when the Spaniard was stopped in the 9th round when the pair contested the European and IBF Inter-Continental 126lb titles in Feb of last year.
Since then, Martinez has been on a four fight win streak that has seen him take the unbeaten record from Jhonatan Romero TKO6, a victorious home (mandatory) defence in Elche against Jeffrey Mathebula KO9 and six weeks ago travelled to Japan to eventually overwhelm Hozumi Hasegawa TKO7.
It’s been no secret that both camps have been in negotiations for this fight for quite a while now and the news will delight Frampton’s fans who will be looking to roar on their man who would become the country’s first world champion since Wayne McCullough in 1996.
(Writer's Note: Brian Magee was actually Northern Ireland's last world champion when he was promoted to WBA Super Middleweight champion in 2012.)
An announcement is due to take place tomorrow at 9am where further details will be given.
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