Martin Ward-Abigail Medina: Champion confident of European win in Hartlepool

The 29-year-old puts his super-bantamweight title on the line in the Borough Hall against gifted Hartlepool boxer Martin Ward.

Medina cut a relaxed but confident figure when he spoke to SportMail, via an interpreter, at the Cosmopolitan Hotel where the Spanish camp are staying. “It’s no problem fighting abroad, I’ve done it before,” said the Barcelona man, who has not been beaten since 2013. “I’m here because I’m very confident.”

Medina admits that he knows little about Ward, apart from his stance.

“I don’t really study my opponents,” he said. “I know he’s a southpaw and I’ve sparred with southpaws.

“I prefer to go into the ring with no pre-conceived ideas – I like to adapt my boxing to what I see in the ring.”

There was a hitch yesterday as Medina weighed in half a pound OVER the super-bantamweight limit at the weigh-in at Eddy Ellwoods Xtreme Fitness Gym in Hartlepool.

A boxer failing to make the weight has up to two hours to shed the excess and he was back after 60 minutes and tipped the scales dead on the 8st 10lb mark.

“It was only 200 grams,” he said. “The scales I was using here gave me a different reading, but it’s not a problem. I ran a bit and did some shadow boxing. I feel hydrated and strong.”

Medina will not be totally on his own at the Borough Hall.

“I have 20 fans arriving from Barcelona today,” he said.

Medina has won 17 of his 22 contests, losing only three times. His sole appearance in the UK saw him lose a close points battle to world champion Jamie McDonnell in a non-title bout in 2013.

Medina’s last outing was in December 2016, when he outpointed Frenchman Jeremy Parodi for the vacant title.

“I could have knocked him out, but I boxed to my corner’s orders,” he said.