By Edward Chaykovsky
EBU super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (17-0, 12KOs) is hungry to get his hands on IBF champion Kiko Martinez (30-4, 22KOs) in 2014. Frampton had little trouble in stopped Martinez in the ninth round of their February battle. But since the loss Martinez racked up three knockout victories, including a TKO win over Jhonatan Romero to capture the IBF crown. Frampton, the IBF's Inter-Continental champion, wants Martinez's crown.
This past Saturday night, Martinez returned to the ring for the fourth time in 2013 and stopped veteran Jeffrey Mathebula in nine rounds. But Frampton was not impressed by the victory.
“It is a fight I would like but we have other options. If it does not happen, it will not be the end of the world. Kiko fought well but Mathebula was well past his best. He looked slow and was not the fighter he used to be. Martinez has not changed since he fought me in February, he walks forward and throws punches but Mathebula hadn’t the power to keep him off,” Frampton told Newsletter.