Scott Quigg has predicted the toughest fight of his career when he defends his WBA super-bantamweight title against former world champion Kiko Martinez this summer.
The rising Bury star will make his most high-profile world title defence when he faces the experienced Spaniard at the Manchester Arena on July 18.
"This is the toughest fight of my career so far," Quigg told Press Association Sport.
"Everyone knows about Kiko Martinez. He's been to everyone's backyard and fought them, including beating Jhonatan Romero for the IBF title on away turf in Atlantic City.
"He punches hard, he's aggressive and he's strong and it's a chance for me to look great against a well-known opponent.
"He's been to Ireland to fight Carl Frampton twice (and lost) and it's a chance for me to go one better.
"I'm going to put on the best performance of my career."
Quigg is excited about topping the bill at a big arena on home turf.
"It's going to be brilliant," he said. "My mum and dad sacrificed so much for me, supporting me through everything. All I wanted was to be a boxer and they supported my decision to drop out of school, they supported me financially to help me go to America for quality sparring.
"This is why. And this is why I made those decisions myself, because I dreamt of topping the bill in front of up to 20,000 people. This is what it's all about."
Source: PA
