Kiko Martínez: ‘Who’d have thought I would be a world champion again?’

Kiko Martínez will defend his world featherweight title in Leeds against Josh Warrington on Saturday night. Martínez possesses the belt but once again he will be the away opponent, fighting alone in front of a packed crowd of 15,000 raucous fans who are desperate for him to lose to their hometown hero.

The 36-year-old has fought 55 times across the world, from dingy shows in Ireland to the bright lights of packed arenas in the US, but he is never happier than when he is home in Torrellano, near Alicante. In many ways the small town and the fighter are symbiotic. They both represent a simple life that prioritises working hard for your family and never forgetting your roots.

Martínez sits on a cafe terrace nursing a herbal tea and smiles warmly at locals who frequently stop to greet him. He has two young daughters and, when not training, he enjoys tending the chickens that forage around his garden for food. His life is firmly rooted in the earth that has sustained generations of his family. “I will never change where I live and I know that I will ultimately die here,” he says. “This is the town of my parents, my brothers and now my daughters. I always want to be here. In this town I have had people who always supported me and wished me nothing but the best and that never changes.”

The boxing world never expected Martínez to be a world champion again. Eight years ago, he shocked everyone when he beat the Colombian fighter Jonatan Romero in New Jersey to win the IBF super-bantamweight title. After two successful defences, he lost his world title to Carl Frampton at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast.

In the subsequent years, Martínez remained high on the phone list for promoters who wanted an aggressive, durable opponent who