PROMOTER Eddie Hearn believes Scott Quigg’s quickfire demolition of Spain’s Kiko Martinez on Saturday has sent out a message and silenced his critics.

The Bury world champion was explosive in dispatching Martinez in just over four minutes at the Manchester Arena to leave Hearn and a capacity crowd wowed.

It was a fifth successful defence of his WBA world super bantamweight title and the 26-year-old could not hide his emotion when referee Terry O’Connor called halt to proceedings when Martinez struggled to get up from a second knockdown in the first minute of the round two.

On a night when British rival Carl Frampton was also successfully defended his IBF crown despite two first round knockdowns, Hearn believes Quigg proved he can beat the best in the division.

Hearn said: “I’m so pleased that Scott Quigg finally gets the respect he deserves.

“He is a quality fighter and when he fights those elite level fighters you will keep seeing those kind of performances.

“Ultimately, he is in a great position. He is world champion and his stock is going to keep on rising.

“Of course, the Carl Frampton fight is the one everybody wants but we have plenty of options after that display.

“It is a sensational performance against a very dangerous Kiko Martinez.

“I don’t think there’s a super bantamweight in the division that can stand up to Scott Quigg’s power.”

The 26-year-old Bury star had talked pre-fight about the danger Martinez could cause.

A former world champion himself, the 29-year-old from Elche took Frampton the distance in September and had only lost five of 37 fights going into Saturday’s clash – just one by way of knockout.

And that threat was evident in a first round that saw the challenger on the front foot and in control.

He landed good left-hand jabs that connected with Quigg without really hurting him.

It was a statement of intent that gave Martinez confidence and he came out even quicker in round two.

But Quigg, who admitted later had been focusing on using the uppercut to maximum effect, did just that barely 30 seconds into the second round.

He landed what he labelled ‘a peach’ on Martinez’s chin and the Spaniard’s legs wobbled.

It was a sign for Quigg to go in for the kill and he did just that, knocking down his talented opponent twice in the space of 30 seconds before the stoppage.

The victory is Quigg’s finest to date and he was naturally delighted with the outcome.

He said: “I am still going to have critics but hopefully I have changed a few opinions.

“In the first round I tested his power and had a look at him. I knew with the way he came out he would gain a bit of confidence.

“In the second he came out with a bit more but that just set it up for the shot we had been working for all through the camp and it was a peach of an uppercut.

“I looked across at Joe and he said ‘stay switched on and look for the finish’.

"I probably looked a bit wild, but kept as calm as possible, got the job done and finished him.

“I was expecting 12 tortuous rounds. This is my life and I was welling up in the ring because hopefully now I will get some credit. This is everything I've worked for as a kid.”

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Quigg’s Gallagher’s Gym stable-mate Anthony Crolla whose first shot at a world title ended in a controversial draw.

The Mancunian lightweight looked to have the better of Colombian Darleys Perez but after 12 rounds the judges scored it 116-111 for Crolla, 114-113 for Perez and 113-113.