Scott Quigg retained his WBA world super-bantamweight title on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena with a career best performance stopping Kiko Martinez in just 2 rounds.
Martinez was the aggressor in the opener, but Quigg soon turned up the heat in the second flooring the former IBF champ with a devestating uppercut. The Spaniard got to his feet only for Quigg to pile on the pressure and force the stoppage from a barrage of massive shots that sent Martinez to the canvas for a second time and although he beat the count, the fight was waved off by the ref.
“I have never had the reception like that before,” Quigg told DAILY SPORT Boxing. “Thank you to everyone who has come out to support me.
“In the first round I tested his power and I knew he would gain a bit of confidence. In the second it set it up for the shot we had been working for. And it was a peach of an uppercut.
“I looked a bit wild, but kept as calm as possible and finished him.
“The first round was how we knew it would be. He was very nervous, so he was sharp and on edge, and I had to see what he was doing.
“But I got my range and we knew he would come out quicker in the second and knew he would walk on to my shot.
“I was expecting 12 tortuous rounds. This is my life and I was welling up in the ring because hopefully now I will get some credit. This is everything I’ve worked for as a kid.”
All boxing fans will now be calling even louder for a fight between him and IBF world super-bantamweight champ Belfast’s Carl Frampton.