Josh Warrington Vs. Kiko Martinez: Odds, Records, Prediction

Thirteen months after losing his featherweight world title in a massive upset to Mauricio Lara, Josh Warrington is still looking to recover his career. On Saturday, Warrington has the chance to once again become a titlist when he faces tough veteran Kiko Martinez. Here’s everything you need to know about Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

In February 2021, Lara shocked Warrington by knocking him down in the fourth round and then stopping him for good in the ninth. It was one of the biggest upsets of the year, and when they fought the rematch nine months later, Lara suffered a cut in the second round that forced the bout to be stopped before any decision could be rendered.

Now, Warrington gets another shot at the belt. But he’ll have to beat a fighter in Martinez who’s coming off the biggest win of his own career, winning a world title by upsetting Kid Galahad. Warrington, though, has an advantage over Martinez: he beat Martinez by majority decision in 2017.

“I’ve trained for a hard 12-round fight,” Warrington said. “Five years ago, we shared some hard rounds, but those five years ago, my stock has risen since then. I’ve only gotten better and better, I’ve had some slip-ups in the last year but it’s time to get back on top.”

Martinez, though, had a breakthrough at the age of 35 when he knocked out Galahad.

Martinez is now ready for more.

“I will beat Josh Warrington within the distance. Maybe he’s too confident and doesn’t understand he’s facing Kiko Martinez,” Martinez said. “Josh is a great boxer. He’s won some fantastic fights in his career … He’s still a big name in boxing, I think he was doing well in the [second] Lara fight until the accidental clash of heads. He’s still got credibility in the world of boxing, and I want to go on and beat him, knowing last time it wasn’t just luck when I won the world title against Kid Galahad.”

Here’s more info on the Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on DAZN beginning at 3 p.m. ET.

Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez odds

If Martinez is looking for some extra motivation, he should get it when he looks at the odds. Though he’s the reigning titlist, he’s the +250 underdog, meaning you’d win $250 on a $100 bet. Meanwhile, Warrington is the -350 underdog (bet $350 to win $100). I wouldn’t wager on Warrington’s money line, but if you’re thinking about putting money on Martinez, I like the +300 odds on him winning by stoppage. For what it’s worth, the oddsmakers don’t have much confidence Martinez can win by decision (he’s +2500 to do so).

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I would take Warrington to beat Martinez at -350, Tim Tszyu to beat Terrell Gausha by decision at +105 and Miguel Berchelt to stop Jeremiah Nakathila at -250. If you get all those correct, that would pay out $269 on a $100 bet.

Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez records

Warrington (30-1-1, 7 KOs) has had a strong career thus far, beating Lee Selby, Carl Frampton and Galahad. But he doesn’t scare anybody with his power, and that means he’ll have to box well enough to keep Martinez off of him for 12 rounds. That’s something Galahad couldn’t do vs. Martinez.

For most of his career, Martinez (43-10-2, 30 KOs) has been the kind of boxer that was good enough to beat most of his opponents but not skilled enough to top the elite. So, when he fought opponents like Leo Santa Cruz, Gary Russell, and Frampton twice, Martinez would lose. It’ll be interesting to see if Martinez can overcome his age and 55 pro fights to pull off another big-time upset.

Josh Warrington vs. Kiko Martinez prediction

For as bad as Warrington looked against Lara the first time, he looked so much better in the rematch (before the bout was halted anyway). I think he’ll take that aggression and skill into this rematch with Martinez, and just like the first time they faced off, Warrington will prove too skilled a boxer for Martinez and win by decision. It’ll be somewhere in the 116-112 range.