A big left hook from Kal Yafai again lands cleanly, followed by another right hand, and an uppercut. Still Suguru Muranaka comes back.

As Trevor Sinclair says...

Image source, Reuters

Commentator Richie Woodall - on TV duty today - says he has Warrington up by two points on the scorecard.

Warrington stands, legs apart, and delivers a left-right-left combo which would have got you plenty of points on Fight Night on the Playstation.

Martinez shows his power with a hefty blow to the head, but the Leeds man sucks it up

Suguru Muranaka is going to be checking out some bruises tomorrow. He has taken a lot of punishment in this fight, which is now into round eight. 

Muranaka blocks a right hook... with his face... but then comes straight back.

Oh, wait, referee Steve Gray has just knocked a point off of Kal Yafai for a second low punch. The Birmingham fighter was warned about it in the fifth and the referee has taken action now. Will that be crucial later on?

Image source, PA

Yes, Warrington. A lovely combination puts Martinez on the back foot and brings the crowd alive again.

A beautiful upper cut gets through the defences but Martinez is a tough cookie and responds with body shots of his own to ask Warrington a few questions.

Warrington smiles at the end of the round, nerves or confidence?

We are into the second half of the fight, something which did not look likely after a blistering start from Kal Yafai, which included Suguru Muranaka taking a count in the second.

Both opt to work to the body, with Yafai then following with a cracking right hook to the head. His opponent is tough, but how much more can he take?

Ex-England international Trevor Sinclair is impressed with the Japanese fighter's toughness. He tweets...

Image source, Lawrence Lustig

The doctor gives the OK for Martinez to carry on, but it is one that the referee will keep an eye on. It's a golf ball sized bruise at the moment.

Warrington is looking to hurt Martinez with attacks to the body, followed by a big right, but the Spaniard is taking all that is coming to him.

The third round has not started yet as the referee calls in a doctor to take a look at a bump to the right of Martinez's head.

It's growing by the second. Will he be allowed to continue?

Image source, Reuters

Kal Yafai gets a warning at the end of the fifth for a low punch. Referee Steve Gray is not too impressed. Signs of the Briton becoming a bit desperate? Maybe. He is still in charge, but is his Japanese opponent Suguru Muranaka starting to gain in confidence?

Image source, Lawrence Lustig

Warrington looks to unload with his combinations but fails to connect as the crouching Martinez edges forward to try and catch the Englishman on the counter.

The Leeds man lands with a strong shot to the body, but the Spaniard is unmoved, almost as though he was tickled by a feather.

Image source, Reuters

The first sign of danger for Kal Yafai comes in the form of a sharp body shot towards the end of the fourth from Japan's Suguru Muranaka.

Yafai is already well ahead on the scorecards, including that 10-8 round in the second when Muranaka took a count, but there could well be a twist if Yafai is not careful.

Image source, Reuters

The crowd are on their feet early in this contest as Warrington catches Martinez with a couple of right hooks.

Plenty of mutual respect between the pair as the Leeds man grins at his opponent at the bell, before Martinez reaches out to touch gloves.

We are under way in Leeds as well, with Josh Warrington aiming to extend his unbeaten record to 25 professional fights.

Image source, Reuters

Yafai has pretty much had it his own way for the first seven minutes, but Muranaka, who has already gone down once - in round two - fights back towards the end of the third.

It may not be the one-sided fight it had looked like being.

Image source, Reuters

A little flash point in this contest and we have not even got going yet.

Referee Victor Loughlin has a look at Martinez's gloves and says the binding is encroaching too much on to the punching area.

Discussions take place, but one of the officials in a suit gives a nod and decides it is OK to continue.

Earlier on, we mentioned Josh Warrington has the support of his city Leeds.

He also has the support of their football club too with the current manager present and a former player in Jermaine Beckford accompanying Warrington during the ring walk.

BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to see the tweet.

Back in Birmingham...Muranaka touches down in the second round. He has struggled to land anything in the opening five minutes, and one Kal Yafai shot causes Muranaka to momentarily touch his knee down on to the canvas.

He can continue, but Yafai is in charge.

Image source, Reuters

Spain's Martinez is no doubt the more experienced man, can he dish out a first defeat to the home favourite? 

Image source, BBC Sport

Josh Warrington, the current WBC International featherweight champion, has been out of the ring for nearly 10 months. 

The Leeds fighter is unbeaten in 25 fights. With only five wins by stoppage he is not considered to be a big puncher but is a technically astute boxer. 

It will be his first fight since leaving promoter Eddie Hearn's Matchroom stable to join Frank Warren's Queensbury Promotions.   

His opponent, Spain's Kiko Martinez, is a name that some of you may recognise - he lost twice against Northern Ireland's world champion Carl Frampton and once against Manchester's Scott Quigg. 

But Martinez is a former world champion himself and undoubtedly Warrington's toughest fight, on paper, to date. 

A win for the Josh Warrington will set him up for a grudge world title fight against Welshman Lee Selby, the IBF featherweight champion. 

Image source, Getty Images

Meanwhile in Leeds... the fighters are heading into the ring.