Rendall Munroe produced an intelligent display to shock Kiko Martinez and lift the European super-bantamweight title in Nottingham.
Leicester southpaw disarms dangerous Spaniard to lift Euro title
Rendall Munroe produced an intelligent display to shock Kiko Martinez and lift the European super-bantamweight title in Nottingham.
The Spaniard arrived in England with a fearsome reputation - having stopped 14 of his previous 17 opponents and demolished the much-vaunted Bernard Dunne in less than 90 seconds.
However, the 27-year-old Munroe boxed cleverly on the backfoot and remained solid in defence to frustrate Martinez.
Two of the judges saw the fight in Munroe's favour 115-113, with the third unable to split the fighters at 114-114.
"It feels fantastic," Munroe told
Sky Sports. "It is all down to my fans who have come here from Leicester. It was great."
Although the power of Martinez remained a threat throughout, Munroe grew in confidence round-by-round to control the fight.
Combinations
By the eighth round, the Leicester southpaw was forcing Martinez back with a series of combinations.
That left Martinez looking for the one big shot to get him back into the fight - but it never came.
And the tenth round saw the 22-year-old champion trapped on the ropes as Munroe plugged away - although he lacked the power really to trouble Martinez.
Sensing his title slipping away, Martinez came out swinging in the final round - but Munroe remained switched on and did well to smoother his rival, even landing the bigger shots in the final 30 seconds.
