Three Phoenix's

[taansend]

Is that the right word?

Anyway, fair play to the following........

Darren Barker. Plenty been covered in loads of other threads & we all know his story & WELL DONE, MATE.

Kiko Martinez. I wasn't expecting that. Been watching him since he came out of nowhere to destroy Bernie Dunne. After the way Carl Frampton stopped him I thought that was it at Euro level let alone world. You could see Romero underestimated him & was SHOCKED by that first round onslaught. We heard all the "I want to get my family out of the slum talk" but you have to prepare for the toughest opponent every fight.

Enzo Maccarinelli. I know he's a fun figure for many but his glass jaw isn't his fault. He has as much heart as any fighter around today & he keeps battling away. Why? I hope it's not for the money as he should have made some from the Haye bout but he keeps coming back & gives his all fight after fight, win or lose. And as I stated before, no -one has ever outpointed him. Not too many of the greats can say that

[Bodyshot3]

Martinez was a big, big surprise.....really thought he was heading south when he lost to Frampton.

I am guessing Kiko got the invitation based upon the fact that Carl had beaten him and the plan from team Romero was to turn the trick again on a respected but shop-worn name fighter.

Just a nice learning defence (preparing for bigger nights) and some money in the bag for Romero.....but it all went pear-shaped.

Wonder whether a rematch with Frampton in Gibraltar could be made; that would be a ****y old evening!

[Tom Cruise]

very happy for Kiko Martinez!

Im always surprised hes only 27 but he's had a hard tough career so i thought it might all be over for him after Frampton. Great performance, even if it conspire with other results to lose me a bet!

I still like Romero but he has a lot of work to do defensively if he wants to come back.

On a side note did we as a group underrate Framptons win over Kiko? I saw it as a good win at that stage of CF's career against a tough but limited brawler, but now it can be seen as a legit name on the resume. Not sure if prefer Martinez Frampton for a chance of a brit title win, or Martinez - Rigo to see a unification and a chance for Rigo to display his skills against an exciting opponent. Either's good for me!

[Bodyshot3]

@Mr Cruise......

...yup, thought Martinez was about 32-33 and shocked to see that he's 27. The guy has packed one hell of a lot in for his age.

[taansend]

Kiko was only 20 or 21 when he took out Dunne.

I'll admit when I first saw Frampton about 2 years ago I was not impressed but the last 3/4 times I've seen him he's impressed me more each time.

But what about Maccarinelli, eh

[sugar555]

Kiko was only 20 or 21 when he took out Dunne.

I'll admit when I first saw Frampton about 2 years ago I was not impressed but the last 3/4 times I've seen him he's impressed me more each time.

But what about Maccarinelli, eh

Ater haye bascially killed him he went all down hill never will get a world title again.

[taansend]

Ater haye bascially killed him he went all down hill never will get a world title again.

Thanks for stating the obvious. But his performance the other night was full of heart. He is a real (limited) fighter.