Watch live coverage of Bernard Dunne versus American David Martinez at the National Stadium live on RTÉ TWO from 10pm on Saturday 3 June.
Click here to watch a TV promo for the fight.
American David "El Finito" Martinez has a spy in the camp ahead of his clash with Bernard Dunne at the National Stadium on 3 June.
The spy in question is none other than former three weight world champion Johnny "Ma Vida Loca" Tapia.
The legendary Tapia has held no less than five world titles during his career but, more importantly for Martinez, he sparred countless rounds with Dunne during the Dubliner's time at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
In recent weeks though it's Martinez who has been clocking up the rounds with Tapia as he bids to ruin Dunne's European title ambitions.
Speaking from his training camp in New Mexico ahead of arriving in Dublin this weekend Martinez said, "I've sparred a lot of rounds with Johnny for this fight and more than held my own with him. I've always looked up to Johnny and sparring with him has given me great confidence. I know from sharing a ring with him that not only can I fight the best but I can beat the best."
The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has produced two of the greatest fighters from the lighter weight divisions in recent times in the shape of Tapia and cross-town rival Danny Romero. Martinez says he fully intends to join both men in the record books.
The ambitious 23-year-old revealed, "I sparred with Danny on a regular basis early in my career and fought on the same cards as him here in Albuquerque. So the experience I've gained sparring with both Danny and Johnny really has been priceless."
Martinez turned professional in 2002 following a stellar amateur career that saw him win four U.S. titles and a Junior Olympic Gold medal. He had his sights set on a place at the Olympics until a change in personal circumstances saw him turn professional. "I had an amateur record of 90 wins and 10 defeats," recalled Martinez.
"I was ranked number one in the country and I know I'd have gone to the Olympics because I'd beaten all my nearest rivals here in the States. However, my daughter was born at the time and I needed to put food on the table for her so I had to forget about going to the Olympics and turn professional. I loved amateur boxing but you can't feed your family on trophies and that's all you get in the amateur game."
Despite turning professional at just 18 years of age Martinez quickly marked himself out as one of the brightest prospects in America going on an unbeaten run of 15 fights in his first three years as a pro. In the process he picked up the California State, WBC Youth and WBC Intercontinental titles. However, in July of last year he lost his unbeaten record to Tex-Mex hard man Tomas Villa in a bloody battle for the North American super bantamweight title.
His brave bid came to an end on a cut eye defeat in the tenth round of a candidate for fight of the year. Reflecting on that defeat Martinez said, "Everybody has a bad day at the office and that was my day. My mind wasn't on the job and nothing went right for me. It was a good lesson for me but I truly believe everything happens for a reason and the defeat has only made me hungrier because I know I can't afford any more setbacks if I want to realise my potential."
Since that sole defeat Martinez has bounced back with two impressive wins. Now he's planning on ruining Dunne's perfect record and ending his European title dreams. "I know exactly how Bernard feels because I was unbeaten up until last year," said Martinez. "There was high hopes for me and there still is high hopes for me but the loss hit me hard because I absolutely hate losing. I detest it, even if I lose a game of checkers it upsets me so losing my unbeaten record was terrible for me. Everyone gets beaten at some stage though, what matters is how you bounce back. That's what makes champions."
"I've worked so hard for this fight. I've prepared perfectly and I'm flying out to Dublin on Saturday to give me time to acclimatise. I'm not the type to make big predictions or anything but I can promise I'm 100% ready to fight and 100% ready to win."
The Bernard Dunne v David Martinez fight will be available on-demand on www.rte.ie/sport/boxing from Sunday 4 June.
