Kid Galahad v Kiko Martinez: Galahad glory in homecoming title defence?

Fresh from achieving his dream of becoming world champion, Kid Galahad headlines his home city of Sheffield on Saturday to make his first IBF featherweight title defence against former world champion Kiko Martinez.

Often ducked and dismissed, Galahad could only fight once in both 2019 and 2020, and after fighting and winning the belt just three months ago in the Matchroom Fight Camp series, it’ll be a welcomed swift return to the ring for the British fighter.

Read on for our preview of the bout and for the fight odds.

Galahad’s road to undisputed

A student of the sweet science of boxing, few fighters work harder than Kid Galahad in and out of camp.

Although inactivity has been a frustration over the last few years of Galahad’s career, he is never far away from the gym, and like all good craftsmen who put in the hours, the results are there for all to see.

Throw it back to June 2019 when Josh Warrington retained his featherweight world title against Galahad in a 12 round chess match. Although many thought the challenger had done enough to get the decision on the night, it was clear that were holes in the armour, but more importantly, not enough behind the shots in key moments.

Fast forward to August 2021 and Galahad would face another former rival Jazza Dickens for the same iteration of the featherweight title, but it wasn’t the same Galahad that had stepped into the ring in 2019.

Although Dickens proved a game opponent on the night, Galahad was all class, boxing and moving to perfection in the early rounds, and stepping into third and fourth gear when entering the final stretch.

After 11 hard-fought rounds, the damage was there for all to see, as Dickens could barely see out of his left-eye, and his corner took him out before he could return for the 12th round.

It was Galahad’s staggering jab that had punctured Dickens all night with the timing and ferocity proving a nightmare for the Liverpudlian. Changes had been made and the new-born champion was ready for the tests ahead.

Martinez awaits

A deserved homecoming fight against Kiko Martinez is next up, a game challenger who has been in the ring with some of the best of this generation in Gary Russell Jr, Josh Warrington, Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton to name a few.

Galahad, though, four years Martinez’s senior, will have the freshness of a youthful title challenger in this fight and will not be counting on disappointing a packed Sheffield Arena in front of his home fans.

Galahad is the 1/16 odds-on favourite for victory this weekend, while his opponent is priced at 7/1, with the draw at 25/1.

Then come the big boys. Leo Santa Cruz, Emanuel Navarrete and Gary Russell Jr hold the three remaining belts at featherweight, and they’re all mouth-watering matchups.

Check out all the latest boxing betting odds at William Hill