Kiko plays cool ahead of Titanic struggle

Kiko Martinez refused to get drawn into another war of words with Belfast’s Carl Frampton yesterday, but a tense atmosphere hung over their final pre-fight press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s world-title showdown.

Fighting in his native city, Frampton will seek to claim the Spaniard’s IBF super-bantamweight title at a purpose-built 16,000-seater arena on the site of the Titanic Quarter, but a usually fiery Martinez was relatively placid yesterday, despite being reminded of his past boasts in advance of their first bout last year.

Frampton made a mockery of his rival’s put-downs by stopping Martinez with a ninth-round knockout in their first meeting in February 2013 to win the European title.